A Second Chance
by Dawn Bently
Summary: Before his wedding, Draco looks back on the devastation and heartbreak he was forced to endure before Astoria somehow managed to restore him to life and love.
1. Before The Wedding

**X**

She couldn't believe that the image before her was him. His blonde hair was not slicked back the way he had once worn it, but instead falling in messy locks around his head. It was the way she liked it. His once hollow icy eyes had a new depth to them that had been missing from his warm gaze for some number of years. He might not have had it during his Hogwarts years, but his mother had seen it in him during the darkest hours of the war they'd pulled through together. She had imagined it was his hope that they would live another day, but almost immediately after the war it had vanished as soon as it had come. Of course, she knew she never really understood what had put that look in her son's eye, and so she didn't know how to question its absence. Instead, she stepped back and hoped that one day her son would lit up once more the way she knew he could.

And as though living through the war was not proof enough that some rouge angel was watching over her and her family, Draco, for the first time, brought home a witty young woman who could have full length conversations with Lucius without ever being burned by his flaming remarks. She could also spend hours on end with Narcissa, both women smiling and laughing as though they had known each other for years, and while Narcissa liked that about young Astoria Greengrass, she loved the girl for lighting up her son once more. Though Narcissa would never really know the truth, she had a feeling Astoria , although the first to come home to Malfoy Manor with her son, was not the first woman to catch his heart.

The past, however, as all Malfoys learned the hard way, must be left in the past, and so Narcissa did her best to push away all thoughts about the mysterious woman whom she believed her son had once loved with an intensity comparable to the intensity with which he loved Astoria. She also knew, however, that the first is never forgotten, and she feared her son was learning that lesson before her eyes.

His smile was warm, but his eyes were only partially lit. The parts of him not glowing from happiness that in a few short hours he would be husband to an Astoria Malfoy, were lost in the past, a look Narcissa recognized only because she wore it often. There was nothing she could do, however, but allow him to spend the last few moments of his single life basking in the memory of a woman long lost, and thoughts of what if.

Narcissa had long ago accepted that she never know the name of that woman, despite how desperately she wanted to. She did not want to know for any reason but to know who to keep in her most inner prayers. She wanted to know the name of the woman who very well saved her son during the darkest days of his life. She might've broken him somehow in the process, but just as there's always an appeal to a first love, a first heart break shines in its own way too.

"You should take your seat soon." Draco said as he reached out for his mother's hand. He saw the conflicted look in her eye, but didn't know what it meant. He had no idea what his mother's inner most thoughts were. She had always been so talented at keeping them hidden from the world, and it was a trait that very well could have been a large part of their survival all those years ago.

"I will, Draco." She answered softly. "Are you happy?"

"Of course I am." Draco's voice and smile was truthful, and his eyes lit up for a moment before returning to the past.

"Completely?"

For a moment silence fell around the two as Draco looked into his mother's eyes, unsure if she had somehow developed the ability to read minds.

"Everybody has a few regrets." He answered simply. Of course, he knew that telling anyone else such a statement risked the chance that everyone would become convinced that he had cold feet about the marriage and was unsure if he wanted Astoria as his wife. His mother, however, knew much better than that. Astoria was not among the many regrets Draco had about his life, but that mysterious woman was certainly near the top of the list.

"Have you seen her since the war, Draco?" Narcissa asked gently. She had never broached the subject of this woman in the past and was unsure if Draco would talk about it.

"Only…" Draco started to answer but paused for a moment as he stared at his mother in shock. "How did you know?"

"The look in your eyes." She answered softly.

"Only a handful of times." Draco replied softly, "But that hardly matters. I'm getting married."

"I understand." Narcissa spoke gently when she heard Draco's voice starting to carry an edge, perhaps in defense of a woman he had not loved in years. "I know you love Astoria, Draco. You would have to be a fool not to. She's a wonderful woman, and she loves you, and you'd have to be a fool not to see how much you both love each other."

"Then why can't I focus on her?" Draco's voice had lost the defensive edge, and instead sounded almost broken. Narcissa knew his pain for once upon a time she had felt it too. With a motherly smile, she reached out and touched his warm cheek.

"It's not because you don't love her, darling."

"Then why?"

"They say time heals all wounds, but sometimes things tear so deeply that nobody can reach in far enough to repair all the damage."

She was probably right. The women in his life tended to always be right. Something about intuition or some other irrational reason.

Nonetheless, Draco could not help but feel she wasn't entirely right. Yes, he'd been broken once, and for quite a while, but he had healed also. She had healed him. Somehow, she had healed him. He was sure of it. He just could not remember the exact moment the healing started, or stopped for that matter. But he certainly tried to remember…

**X**


	2. Hope

It was foolish to think life would be easy once the most pressing issues were dealt with. Though he might've survived, he was sure he – and his family – were on the top of the list of people whom the general public wished hadn't survived. Though his mother denied it vehemently, it was hard to ignore the constant stares, and the silence that always followed his entrance to any room or building. While the silence was hard enough to endure, the whispers that followed it were even worse. And then there was her.

But he refused to let himself dwell on her anymore. Had he once dreamed that Voldermolt would be killed and life would return to the way it should've been, her by his side? Well, of course, but over the course of one short year, Draco Malfoy had done quite a bit of maturing and in that process his mind suddenly lost the ability to believe in childish fantasies. Instead, all he saw before him were the facts, and hardly any of them were good. Yes, he and his parents managed to survive a time where Death Eaters were otherwise perishing, but at what expense? His aunt was dead. As evil and sick minded as she might've been, family was family after all. Wasn't that what his mother had been so desperate for him to learn?

Then there was his other aunt. And his second cousin, the small boy, Teddy. But his mother, Draco's cousin, had died as well with her husband. And Draco was fairly certain Andromeda Tonks wanted nothing to do with him and, more importantly, wanted Teddy to having nothing to do with him either.

It seemed, no matter what factor of the war or his life he tried to distract himself with, all he found was pain, loss, and the pain from loss. The only people who hadn't left him were his parents, but they were just as scared as he was. Perhaps not physically, but mental if nothing else. That was why he refused to unburden himself to them. As much pain as he carried, he knew they carried more. How could they not? They had been exposed to Voldermolt and his destructive behavior far longer than he had. It only followed that they had experienced more pain than him, his lost love included.

And again, his thoughts circled back to the woman he knew he would never hold again. And he'd only held her once before. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He wasn't sure if it would hurt more to lose her if he knew exactly what he was losing or not. It didn't matter, really, because no matter how much he dwelled on the thought nothing could change that he had had her for only a moment, and he hadn't even had all of her at that. That logic, of course, was the result of his inability to believe in fairytales and any sort of story that featured a semblance of a happy ending. From the looks of things, happy endings didn't really exist at all.

Perhaps there was a silver lining to every cloud, but in Draco's eyes, it was a rather dull silver that required one to squint and look really hard to find it. Perhaps to increase their chances of finding it, he suggested bringing along Loony Lovegood, for she, if anybody, should have some outrageous way to find what doesn't exist in any tangible way.

Deciding Luna Lovegood was a good place to distract himself, Draco sat in the far corner of the pub, clutching his drink with both hands as he mused about the airheaded blonde young woman. She had faired fairly well for herself during the war, but he wasn't sure why that surprised him so. She was a Ravenclaw after all. And more importantly than that, she was a close friend to Harry Potter. It seemed anybody closely connected to the Chosen One had made out pretty well.

"Draco?" A female voice had called his name, but couldn't place the voice. He'd heard it before, he was sure, but in the last year his mind had been stretched a bit too thinly for his memory to serve him properly. Peeling his eyes up from his drink, he glanced around the bar until his eyes found the woman with whom the voice belonged with. It was Hermione Granger.

"What are you doing here?" Draco replied sharply. He voice never lost its edge since the war ended, but he couldn't help it. He was always on edge, always tense, as though he was in a constant state of fear that Voldermolt could come around the corner and once more he'd be subjected to a second living nightmare.

"Not everybody is recovering as well as we'd like." She replied. Her voice was different to, but Draco couldn't tell what it was. He'd been too out of practice at reading people to tell, but he did know how to read and knew Hermione was probably one of the few witches or wizards to be so happy after the war. After all, she lost no family, and in the process gained a boyfriend. She'd lost friends, of course, but everyone else had as well.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her voice showing concern, and Draco realized he'd lost himself in his thoughts once more and had not heard anything else she had said. "You…" Hermione had started to say something, but she paused as she took a step back from Draco's dimly lit booth. "If you or family ever need anything, just owl me or Harry." She told him as she swallowed.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Hermione and she shifted her eyes at the intense gaze. "You know don't you?"

Hermione had turned away, but took a step forward nonetheless. She had always been one to gently step around other's feelings, but Draco was past the point where it mattered. He'd seen the headlines and the pictures. He knew she had picked someone instead. But it wasn't just someone else. It was _him_. There really was nothing Hermione could ever say to make matters worse.

"She told me a few years ago." Hermione answered gently. "But things changed."

"Really?" Draco actually smiled as Hermione cringed. It wasn't a happy smile. It was more of a smile one wears when they're sure life has given up on them and instead has focused on everyone else. "I hadn't noticed that happening when I was there."

"It never would've worked, Draco." Hermione said the words Draco had told himself over and over, and yet they sound so much more powerful coming from someone else. Or maybe it was just her voice. Then again, it could've just been that it was Hermione saying them. When was the last time Hermione was wrong about anything? Draco certainly didn't have that memory playing his mind.

"Your relationship was built during an intense time and once that passed, the relationship was built off nothing."

She was right, but was drunk and liked arguing. Or he just liked the company and Hermione was the sort to stick around until she was proven right.

"And you and Weasley? I saw you two that day. You were only inches from dying, but I'm sure that was the right time to start snogging. With Potter there, mind you." Draco's voice was as sharp as his words, but Hermione didn't seem to take any offense to the comment.

"You'd have to be a fool to think Ron and I built our relationship around the war. Whatever we had, it started years before then, Draco. And you probably know that. You did your share of teasing us at Hogwarts and more than once Ron and I were always at the end of your joke."

"And life's corrected that, has it now?" Draco replied and Hermione's face softened.

"Of course I didn't mean that, Draco. Everybody is in pain, and that doesn't give you the right to sulk in it and drag people back down. Don't pretend you're the only one who cries themselves to sleep, or listens to somebody else crying at night. But you are, of course, never around when it come to consoling."

"Don't pretend you want me there." Draco's voice rose and the edge became sharper, just as the look in Hermione's eyes hardened.

"How would ever know, Draco, if you're never around? Teddy asks about you every day and nobody knows what to say to him. A room full of people who have seen more horrors than you can imagine, and nobody has a clue what to say to the two year old who doesn't understand why his own cousin doesn't care enough to show up for one day."

"What business do I have there?" Draco replied, and neither noticed that they had quickly become the center of attention in the depressing bar.

"I don't know, Draco, but your mother felt she had business there. She came to see Teddy and told him that you were busy helping Aurors take bad people away. Imagine how disappointed he'll be one day when he learns that you were actually drinking away the Malfoy fortune when you could at the very least, donate to help build Hogwarts again."

She was probably right, but he didn't want to consider that. Drinking away the money had never been his plan, anyway. Maybe drinking away the pain, but that hadn't worked out so well either.

"If nothing else, just don't give up."

"How can you say that?" Draco replied and finally his voice no longer carried an edge. Instead he was breathless, completely unsure of life and could not understand the woman before him or what she was saying.

"You think we didn't want to give up, Draco?" Hermione replied and he remained silent. She was right. As horrible as his part in the war had been, he'd never even considered the parts she, Harry, and Ron played. But that wasn't entirely his fault either. They'd always been so vague about the details of what had happened during what was supposed to be their final year at Hogwarts. Nobody, except perhaps _her_, knew all the details of what the three had gone through.

"I'm sure you did." He said softly as he tried to take another drink, but found his glass had somehow been emptied during his prolonged conversation with the woman he had once sworn he'd never associate with.

"But we didn't. And things are getting better. And they will for you too."

Hermione turned and walked away and Draco stared into his empty cup. Of course she was right. She was always right. This would prove to be no different. And while he wanted to believe, with everything inside him, that Hermione was always right, he could not fathom how anything could get better. Then again, once one has reached the very bottom, there is no other direction to go in other than up.


	3. Innocence

A year passed easily without much change within him. Things were changing around him, however slowly those changes were taking place. Despite the time that had so easily escaped him, Hermione's comments had lingered in his mind, never seeming to tire of haunting him. Heeding Hermione's comments as best he could, Draco walked down the slowly recovering Diagon Alley. He found it ironic really, that when every other store had closed their doors, the Weasleys' joke shop had stayed strong, and now when all the other stores were slowly returning, the Weasley doors had yet to be opened. He had heard rumors of the death of one of the Weasley twins, but he'd never been curious enough to confirm it, but the prolonged closing of the store seemed to confirm the rumor just the same.

As he walked, he passed the broken windows of what had once been the old wand shop where his father had bought him his first wand years ago. Across from it, was the bookstore where his father had set into motion the events that made his second year at Hogwarts so interesting. Of course, it was only ironic that later that year Harry destroyed the first of the Horcruxs without even knowing of their existence. Choosing not to dwell on such events, Draco wandered towards the bookstore, half surprised that the store was nearly empty. He only had memories of it being full of Hogwarts students, especially during the fall, but then again, Diagon Alley was still recovering.

He seemed lost in thought, for he certainly was not very attached to reality, but he was not focused on any one thought or another. His mind was blank as his eyes scanned across the bookshelves, reading each title as though they meant something to him, or as though he were looking for any book in particular.

"That's a good read, you know." A female voice pulled Draco into the ever present reality and he knew how lost he must've appeared, but the woman only smiled at him as though she hadn't noticed. She was short, barely reaching his shoulders, but she was slender as well. "It's a good book to pass time with."

As he turned down, ready to respond, he found no words would pass his lips. Instead, he could only stare into her blue eyes, shining brighter than anything had in quite some time. Then there was her smile which caused small, almost undetectable creases around her eyes. He didn't know what it was about her, but he didn't want to say anything if it meant she would stay still long enough for him to just stare at her until the world disappeared. All he could do, however, was stare down into her bright blue eyes, unsure of what quality they carried which drew him in so. "I'm not much of a reader, I'm afraid."

"Then why did you venture into a bookstore?" She replied, the tips of her lips curling farther up into a wider smile than the one she had before.

"Because it was open." He answered, expecting her to walk away. People always walked away. It amazed him that she even spoke to him. Judging from the age she appeared to be, she had to be old enough to know of the war and its aftermath. If she went to Hogwarts, she should even recognize him. In fact, she didn't even have to go to Hogwarts to recognize a Malfoy. Anybody could see a Malfoy from miles away and adjust their immediate plans so that they did not have to interact in any way with a Malfoy.

"Well, I'll just let you browse then." She replied, her voice still as sweet as it had been when she approached him. "There's older books upstairs. Less people there, too."

"Thank you." Draco replied as he nodded softly to her and she smiled widely once more.

"Of course." She answered as she stepped to the side and let him pass. He approached the staircase along the edge of the building and reached out to put a hand on the handrail. As he started to ascend the stairs, however, he peered back at the small woman, who's shining eyes were still following him, her smile ever present.

It was then he realized what it was about her that drew him in. It was her innocence. She was seemingly unharmed in every way. She smiled as though the wizarding world had not just waged a second deadly war. Her eyes shined as though everything in life were perfect. In a world that had seen too much violence and evil, she rose above it all, innocence, though some impossible way, intact.


	4. Drinks

It was a quiet night, for the Ministry had decided to hold a ball to celebrate the first anniversary of the end of the war. Naturally, the Malfoys had been cordially invited, but only Narcissa wanted to attend. Draco had managed to quickly slip away while his parents bickered over whether or not his father would be attending as well. His mother argued that they should building up the Malfoy name again, and the first step was to start being social once more, this time with the right people. Naturally, she was right, but neither Lucius nor Draco were up to pretending life had treated them fairly.

Draco didn't know who won the argument, for he was already long gone to his favorite bar while they were nearing the middle of the argument. Again, Draco found solace in a luke warm glass of some sort of alcoholic drink. He didn't care what it was, or how much it costed, only that it worked. Of course, that had been the topic of the conversation he had less than a year ago with Hermione, but he couldn't remember that far back anymore.

"You should take it easy." A female voice called to him, and slowly Draco raised his head and tried to focus his eyes. It took some doing, but did manage to find her blue eyes, and immediately recognized them.

"You're a waitress too." He tried to ask her a question, but it sounded more like a rude comment. She did not, however, take any offense from his drunken tone and instead just smiled at him.

"Yes." She said simply as she reached across the table to take his glass, but he would not release the handle.

"I'm not done." He told her.

"Yes, you are, Draco." She replied as she reached with her other hand to peel his fingers from the handle. He was so drawn in by the feel of her hand on his, that he didn't even notice that she had used his name. On his icy hand, her fingers felt like fire as she pulled the glass free of his grip. Finally, after she had gotten most of the handle out of his hand, he relinquished the glass and let her pull it from his reach completely.

"You should go home, Draco." She said gently as she looked into his eyes. He stared right back her, until his vision started to fail him and he could not see straight. With a groan, he curled his arms up and rested his head on the table. "Draco," She said strongly, and he didn't like how it sounded. She was so innocent and gentle that using such a harsh tone didn't fit her at all.

"Use the floo and go home." She told him as she tugged on his arm. Deciding to listen to her, for some odd reason, Draco slowly started to move towards the edge of the table, and continued t tug on his arm as though her small frame could ever move him if he weren't moving himself as well.

"Your eyes." Draco had started to speak but stopped as he turned and looked down at her once more. She was mad, that much he could tell, but he didn't understand what it was about him that made women so mad all the time.

"Go home." She repeated, her voice sounding more forceful than ever, except it no longer sounded like she wanted him home for his own health. Instead, he couldn't help the feeling she wanted him away from her, though he had no idea why she would want to away from him. Well, he knew why people wanted to stay away from him, but she was a woman who approached him on her own. Perhaps she was joining the rest of the world.

With that, Draco looked into her eyes once more, finding only a hint of her innocence still intact, before he turned and managed to stumble towards the fireplace. He couldn't remember the exact details of his arrival at the Malfoy Manor, but he was already stripped to his underwear and starting to sober when he realized he'd pushed away the only person who actually wanted to be around him without ever learning her name. Without her name, her eyes were all that were left for him to dream of. Her eyes, and her long dark locks falling in soft natural curls around her shoulders. And her smile. And the way she said his name.


	5. Names

He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he hoped he would find it. He could remember pieces of the previous night, but mostly he only remembered seeing her. He was sure he'd said something to make her mad, for that usually the patterned that followed his drinking. Somehow, he always managed to make some woman mad whenever he drank, be it in private or public. Nevertheless, he wandered down the quite roads of Diagon Alley, looking this way and that, unsure if he would ever find her again. Only a few people were there, for the majority of the crowds disappeared once Hogwarts started, but he hoped that would work in his favor.

He reached the bar before the bookstore, so he went there first, and found it surprisingly empty. Then again, he had never had reason to visit it so early in the day before. He walked around the various tables set up in the center of the room before he reached the counter in the back of the building.

"The usual?" The grizzly bartender asked as he turned towards Draco, while cleaning the inside of one of the bar's deep drinking glasses. Draco only shook his head while trying to ignore the fact that he frequented the bar enough to have a 'usual'.

"No. I'm looking for the waitress who here last night."

"She's not here." His deep voice sounded half annoyed, half bored as he turned his attention back to the glass he was wiping.

"Do you know where I could find her?" Draco replied, only to see him set the glass on the counter and point out of one of the darkened windows on the front wall of the building. As Draco turned, he first found a head of long blonde hair, but on the other side of the blonde woman, his eyes caught sight of the long dark curls belonging to the woman he had yet to learn her name. Without speaking to the bartender, Draco hurried out of the bar, almost toppling a few chairs in the process, to catch up to her and her blonde friend.

"Hey!" He called as he passed through the doors. Due to the lack of people, she and her friend, turned back and quickly spotted him. Draco, thankful he had found her once more, also recognized the blonde woman as one of his former classmates.

"Draco." Luna's voice was as high pitched and dreamy as it had been in school, and just like her school day antics, she tilted her head slightly to one side as she smiled up at him. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you. Hermione said you were going to come to the Weasley's but that was quite a while ago as well. What's kept you?"

Tough Luna continued as though Draco was paying attention, he was staring into the blue eyes that had haunted him, and she was staring back as well.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking again?" She replied, her voice not quite as sweet as Draco remembered it, but her eyes were also colder than he remembered.

"I wasn't drinking." He answered simply. "I was looking for you."

"That's nice." Luna commented but neither faced her.

"Why?" She replied as she narrowed her eyes at him. Where her eyes had once had innocence, there was now curiosity.

"I never got your name."

She only laughed as she faced Luna, but she was smiling again. Judging from the creases around her eyes, he guessed it was a genuine smile as though he amused her. "Try really hard, Draco." She told him before she linked her arm with Luna's and started to turn away, pulling Luna with her. "I'm sure it'll come to you eventually." She laughed over her shoulder, her eyes once more shining the way they had in the bookstore, distracting him from what was laying before him rather plainly. She knew him from Hogwarts, but he could not remember her.

Of course, it took him a lot of thinking to finally realize it. Of course, that was how she knew Luna. He had no way, however, of knowing what year she had been in, for Luna made friends easily with anyone regardless of their House or year, given that they could bear Luna's odd demeanor. Draco, of course, took that to mean she was not a Slytherin. He knew of no Slytherin, whatsoever, who could stomach Luna and her antics, and if a Slytherin could, he would've heard talk of them during school. And from what he could remember, the majority of Luna's friends were either Ravenclaws or Gryffindors.

That of course, lead to the only pack of Gryffindors Draco knew: Harry, Hermione, Ron, and _her_. But he absolutely refused to think of that anymore. It had been over a year since whatever they had ended, and he would not allow it to affect him anymore. But if he did seek out their help regarding the woman whom he could not name, he was certain he would see her again. It was only a matter of time, for she often followed wherever they went.

Regardless, Draco decided it was better to face her during the pursuit of another woman, though he could not understand his fascination with her. Only twice he had spoken with her, and one of those times had not been when he was sober. If anybody could tell how ghastly a person he was to be around while drinking, it was Hermione. Then it was her. But despite all that, Draco owled Hermione explaining how he decided it was time he spent time with young Teddy Lupin, and she responded with the time and address where he could see the young boy. She had however, neglected to tell Draco that his mother was also going to be there to see the child.

"Draco, darling." Narcissa smiled as Draco's face straightened at the sight of his mother holding the three year old toddler on her lap. "I didn't know you visited the Weasley's."

"I don't." Draco replied sharply and Narcissa rose an eyebrow at her son, silently hoping that whatever made him crawl out of bed before noon would also make him happy in the days to come. She didn't respond to him, though, and turned her attention back to Teddy who was reaching out to pull on Narcissa fully grown out darkened locks.

"You're late, Draco." Hermione commented sharply from behind him.

"Got lost."

"No you didn't." She replied simply as she walked passed him to set drinks on the table beside Narcissa's chair. Draco didn't respond, especially since both knew she was right. Again, Draco found himself mercy to the women around him who seemed to see the world in a different light than he, and that light, it seemed, showed them the truth while leaving him behind to guess between truths and falsities.

"Why did you come?" Hermione asked as she sat across from Narcissa and motioned to the seat between them for Draco to sit it.

"To see him." Draco replied as he motioned to the child but Hermione rose an eyebrow at him. Clearly, she was not buying his testament, but he was in no mood to defend it, and she was polite enough not to call him out on it in front of his mother. While the old rivals stared at one another, Narcissa turned half of her attention to Teddy.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if Hermione had been the witch who had taken hold of his heart during the war. To her, it seemed Hermione would make such a good match with Draco. Where he was irrational, she was rational, and where he was emotional, she was still rational. Narcissa, however, had a knack for knowing people better than they realized, and therefore knew Hermione would have a shining engagement ring on her finger before the end of the month, put there by the youngest Weasley son. Likewise, the single Weasley daughter would have an engagement ring fairly soon as well, put there by none other than Harry Potter, and so Narcissa didn't push the idea of her son and Hermione. Besides the fact that she loved Ron Weasley, Draco's father would not take well to the idea, despite their switching sides at the end of the war.

"I'm going to take him in to nap." Narcissa commented as she rose from her seat, holding the boy securely on her hip, identical to the way she had once carried Draco.

"Alright," Hermione nodded as she smiled gently at the older woman, before turning back to Draco. Once they were alone, she broached the conversation she had been unwilling to have in the presence of his mother. "So why are you here again, Draco?"

"I need your help." He answered simply. He knew there was no denying it, and admitting it right away would probably speed things along. "There's this girl."

"No." Hermione answered simply as she shook her head. "I will not help you get a girl, Malfoy. You're almost nineteen; I should hope you can do that without help."

"I don't need-" Draco stopped as he groaned and leaned forward in his seat. "I don't know her name and she won't tell me."

Hermione let out a dry laugh before she swallowed and stared at Draco with as straight a face she could manage. "Go on."

"She went to Hogwarts with us, but I don't know her year or House."

"Then what do you expect from me?" Hermione replied with a laugh. "I know who she is as well as you do with that information."

"She's friends with Luna Lovegood."

Hermione paused for a moment before she let out a breath. "That does narrow it down a bit, doesn't it?"

"Only a bit?" Draco bit back but Hermione ignored him.

"Well, Ginny's much close friends with Luna than I am. Your question is much better posed to her."

"No," Draco responded strongly. "You can at least try. She has dark brown hair, almost black, and blue eyes. She's sort of short, and she laughs a lot, and…" Draco trailed off, unsure of what else he could say about her.

Hermione stared at Draco, as though she were thinking of anyone who matched his description, until her eyes shifted to above his head. "Astoria? What are you doing here?" She called out and Draco turned to look at who had entered the garden.

"Draco." She smiled as she let out a laugh and neared him.

"Astoria." He repeated the name as he watched her walk towards him on the cobblestone path. Just saying the name flooded his mind with memories of who she was. Astoria Greengrass, younger sister to Daphne. Pureblood witch, but she was in Ravenclaw unlike her Slytherin sister. Though he knew of who she was, he had only one direct memory of her, and it was of him taking points from her for being out two minutes passes curfew on her way back to the Ravenclaw dormitories from the library. But he hoped she couldn't remember that. Chances were, however, that she would.

Astoria, now seated in his mother's seat, though she sat on the edge, her attention completely on Draco, stared at him, still smiling. "Didn't I tell you it would come to you eventually?" She teased lightly before facing Hermione. "I came to return your book." She explained simply as she reached into her bag to retrieve a book, then handed it to Hermione.

"Why couldn't you just tell me?" Draco asked.

"Why should I?" She replied simply. "Why couldn't you remember me?"

"Well, it's not as though we had classes together." He defended himself.

"And yet you could take points from me."

Of course she remembered. "I was a prefect." He replied with a heavy sigh. "I had to."

"I sure you did." She answered, her voice indicating that she was neither happy nor upset about the conversation. She was simply responding to him, and though it was infuriating to him, Hermione found it entertaining.

"I'm going to take this in," Hermione said as she stood, holding her book, but she felt only Astoria paid her any attention.

"Are you happy that you know my name now?" Astoria asked curiously as she faced Draco, her eyes shining impossibly bright. He felt it had something to do with the sun.

"Happy?" He repeated. "Perhaps pleased."

"Suit yourself then," She answered with a slight shrug before she stood up, turning towards the house. Draco had started to stand as well, determined to follow her where ever she went, but he returned to his seat when he heard his mother's voice.

"Astoria, I didn't know you were coming." She called out as she neared the table and the two quickly embraced before Narcissa sat in Hermione's seat and Astoria sat as well. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"Well, I was supposed to go to the ball, but I ended up changing my plans."

"Yes, Draco didn't attend either." Narcissa replied, motioning to her son, but Draco couldn't tell due to his attention landing completely on Astoria. Of course, both noticed, though neither commented on it. Narcissa could understand how any man could be so infatuated with Astoria, given her pretty face and gentle personality, but she knew a Greengrass girl was a no better choice than a muggleborn witch such as Hermione. However, she left the topic alone, especially after detecting the slightest of blushes across Astoria's cheeks.


	6. Heartbreaker

After returning Hermione's book, Astoria had little reason to stay at the Weasley's, and after learning Astoria's name, Draco had little reason to stay as well. As such, the two quickly made their cases to leave.

"Shouldn't you still be at Hogwarts?" Draco asked as he faced Astoria while they walked down Diagon Alley, where she was to work soon, and he followed behind her. "For your last year."

"I went for my sixth year." Astoria answered, "But it was not Hogwarts anymore. My friends weren't there, and I was treated differently because of who I was. And I was always ahead of my year, so I didn't return this last school year." She explained simply, without facing Draco, though his eyes were glued to her.

"You knew who I was in the bookstore."

"Of course I did." She replied, finally facing him. "And it wasn't as though anyone else would've tried to help you."

"So that's it then? That's why you talked to me?"

"Does it really matter why two people start talking?" Astoria responded, turning forward once more. "To me, it seems it should only matter if they continue talking."

"Then why did you continue talking to me?" Draco replied and she stopped walking as she turned to face him. For a moment, she remained silent, only staring up into his grey eyes, but she eventually spoke.

"Because it's not fair that everyone assumes you should be Azkaban alongside all the others." She answered simply. "And it may seem like nobody wants to be around you, but things aren't always the way they seem, Draco."

"Well, the whispering and pointing usually is what it seems." He answered sharply as he tried to turn away from her, but she reached out and took hold of his wrist before he could walk away.

"People may not know what to make out of you and your family, but they still respect you, Draco. And it's not because you're respectable, it's because Hermione, Ron, and Harry have never said anything bad about you. They've said nothing but good things about you and your family whenever they're asked. It's just you make it hard to believe them when all you do is drink."

Draco stared down at Astoria, unsure of what to make of her. Like Hermione, she had a knack for telling the truth, even if it was hard to hear, but Astoria's words sounded much gentler than Hermione's words. He wasn't sure if it was from her words, or if it was simply her voice. All he knew, was that she had a way of reaching out to him.

"So you believe all the things they've said about me?" He asked.

Astoria only laughed as she started to walk and Draco walked beside her. "Well, just because they tell the public nothing but good things, doesn't mean the other side of the truth is unspoken behind closed doors."

"And what exactly does that mean?" He replied.

"It means I believe Hermione when she says you're a drunk. And I believe Ron when he says you're a cheat. And I believe Harry when he says you're a good man. But I don't know what to make of what Ginny says you are."

Then everything seemed to stop in his mind. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what _she_ had said of him behind closed doors. Or even out in public.

"But that look only means one thing." Astoria commented and Draco faced her once more, doing his best to focus on her.

"And what's that?"

"That she's a heart breaker, too."


	7. Lunch

"You're not going to tell me are you?" Astoria asked as she looked across the table at Draco. They had started a bit of a routine, where Draco would meet her during her lunch at the small café a few stores down from the bookstore, on the days when she worked.

"Tell you what?" He replied as he took a sip of his coffee and looked up at her.

"Why Ginny called you a heart breaker, and why you get that look in your eye whenever her name is mentioned." She answered simply as she looked down at her food. She really wasn't all that hungry, but she didn't like how broken he always managed to look when he heard her name.

"Does it matter?" he replied. "What's done is done, right?"

"I suppose." She responded as she looked up at him again. "Will you be attending the Ministry's dinner party?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, I was under the impression you wanted people to like you again." She answered simply. "Attending social events would probably help you in that area."

"Is being seen with a Greengrass not enough to boost my likability?" He mocked, but she hardly seemed to notice or care. After having a few serious conversations with her, it was easy for Draco to see how she could get along with Luna. It was her ability to tell the truth, or inability to lie, that made it easy for her to get along with Hermione.

"Besides, I heard it was being hosted by your family." Astoria said but paused when she saw the look in his eyes. "Did you not know that?"

"Clearly I didn't." He replied before taking another drink.

"Perhaps your mother had good reason to keep it from you." Astoria laughed but Draco's face remained hardened.

"Perhaps so that she could more easily force me to go."

"I think 'stay' is a more correct term." She replied, still laughing slightly though Draco failed to see the humor. "Oh, stop sulking, Draco. It's not that bad. You just shake a few hands and make some small talk."

"I'm not good at small talk."

"You manage well enough to talk to me."

"I wasn't under the impression we were making small talk." He replied and Astoria remained quiet. She often did when Draco was probably right and she didn't want to argue with him.

"Well, no matter." She shrugged as she finished her meal and looked up at him. Again, he found himself lost in her impossibly blue eyes, which somehow still held innocence he doubted even existed in a world that had seen such a violent war only a little over a year ago. "It won't be nearly as bad as you think. They'll be some very important people there, and their daughters. I imagine you wouldn't mind a dance or two with the Minister's daughter."

"She's not that attractive." He commented, avoiding her gaze. "Will you be attending?"

"Most likely." She answered softly, and Draco faced her once more.

Silence followed as Draco watched her, but she didn't seem to notice the silence. She was distracted by him. Though she hardly knew the Draco Malfoy who had emerged from the war, she had never seen his grey eyes become so lit that they almost appeared silver. She didn't know what it was that made his eyes suddenly become bright, but he looked so much more attractive that way.

"Do you miss Hogwarts?" Draco asked, breaking the silence, but their eyes never strayed from one another.

"I miss the Hogwarts we had before Voldermolt." She answered. He had expected that answer, but he had not expected her to say the name. Of course, a good number of people were more willing to say it after his ultimate demise, but he hadn't expected it from a seventeen year old witch, who in some ways was still a girl. But he didn't like thinking of her in that way. She almost seemed like a child to him when he thought of her like that. Of course, that explained her innocence rather well. Nonetheless, Draco tried his best to think of her as the woman she was mentally.

"Do you remember me?" Draco asked curiously. He had tried on several occasions to think of her during his Hogwarts years, but he couldn't think of any other moment than the one that did not reflect well on him.

"Yes, of course I do." She answered. "I knew who you were, remember?"

"No," He shook his head. "That's not I meant."

"You mean real memories?"

"Yes." He nodded as she looked down to gaze into her cup as though it would provide answers for her.

"I remember you kissing Pansy by the lake. And you were always somewhat happy after your potions class, probably because it was your best subject. You always ate one thing at a time off your plate, instead just eating like a normal person. And your cup was always in your right hand."

Draco only stared at her, and she could feel his gaze but didn't want to meet it. In amazement, Draco could say nothing, and simply held his gaze, watching the way her dark locks fell around her face and how her eyelids fluttered. He thought he saw a bit of a blush across her cheeks, but there was no trace of it when she did finally look up.

"I assume you remember nothing about me, expect that I lost track of time in the library one night and dropped my books in my rush, causing me to be even later than I already was." Her words carried a bit of sarcasm, but her voice didn't. As always she spoke as sweetly as her eyes appeared.

"I didn't know you dropped your books that night."

"You wouldn't have cared, even if you had known." She responded. She was right. But he wasn't that Draco anymore. He had changed during the war, and it was probably a combination of any number of things that had caused it. Of course, Astoria knew of who had probably caused the biggest of the changes, but she had learned neither was willing to speak of it, if they acknowledged it happened at all.


	8. Losing

**Please feel free to review or favorite**

**X**

Draco sat in one of the comfortable chairs in the den, while his parents engaged in a second petty argument in the month. He really wasn't paying them much attention, for the majority of his attention was on the nearby fireplace and the glass in his hand.

"Narcissa, we cannot host a Ministry dinner party." Lucius spoke forcefully. "And it's not a matter of not wanting to. We physically cannot have that many people here."

"Really?" She replied, her voice carrying a tone Draco recognized. It was the same tone of voice Astoria often had when he was arguing with her and he was inevitably wrong. "Because we were able to host a variety of people previously. What on earth has changed since then?"

"Everything." He replied with a sigh. Draco heard him lift his glass off the table and few moments later it returned to the table top. As much as he disliked the comparison, he could not help but note how similar their conversations and arguments were to the ones he had with Astoria. Perhaps the romance side of his parents' relationship wasn't present between him and Astoria, but he certainly saw similarities between the two relationships. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.

"Draco, what do you think?" Narcissa turned to her only child and he slowly turned to face his parents. Narcissa held her head high, her skin glowing in a way it hadn't for years. Even her hair seemed healthier since she allowed the Malfoy blonde to grow out and be replaced with her naturally dark curls. She was a harsh contrast to his father who had yet to find his razor or a simple spell to rid himself of facial hair. Even the winkles on his aging face were more pronounced since the war, and Draco couldn't help but wonder how his mother had recovered so beautiful from the war while his father appeared to still be suffering from its aftermath. Then again, in some small ways, Draco was still suffering to.

"You'd have to hire tons of help for something like that." Draco commented simply. "And house elves cannot be among them. Not only would Hermione be up in arms about that, there's a ton of other problems that presents."

"Well of course, I've already thought of that." Narcissa responded and Draco tried to return to his thoughts but she continued. "And I've already spoken to the Minister and he's given me a rough number of people who would be attending and the list of names."

"Narcissa." Lucius sighed, knowing there was no way he could win a battle she'd already decided he'd lost. "Why can't you just let things be?"

"Why can't you stop mopping?" She replied as she rose to her feet, her robe falling dramatically to her ankles as she spun towards her husband. "Yes, the war was hard, but we lived Lucius and yet somehow, you are never happy."

"I almost lost everything, Narcissa!" He responded and the room seemed to still at his raised voice.

"You did?" Narcissa responded, her calm voice sounding much threatening than his raised one. "I lost my sister. My niece. The only family I have left is two years old, and a sister who still doesn't want a thing to do with me. And you? What did you lose, Lucius? A house elf to do your bidding? Power and prestige? I'd like to think I didn't risk my life to save a man who cares for nothing but how much power he can buy."

Draco remained silent as he focused on the cracking flames of the fire. It was hard to admit, but his mother was right and her point was only emphasized when the door slammed shut behind her.

"Father," Draco slowly rose to his feet and turned to see his father pouring another drink. "I think it's best if we host the dinner party."

"And why is that, Draco?" He replied sharply.

"Because the only reason you don't want to go to it is that you're sour you lost the war." Draco replied. It was a hard statement to say, but it was true nonetheless. Yes, his parents had sacrificed their standing to save him, but it was foolish to think his father did not still hold his beliefs. It might've taken Draco a long time to understand why his father had resorted to shutting out the world and drinking, but it did finally occur to him. Where his father only saw defeat, his mother saw life and for a long time Draco didn't know what he saw in the world after the war. Then Astoria made him see life as well. But on his own, he also saw who he would become if he continued the behavior he had for the last year. He might not have reached such a level any time soon, but Draco saw for too much of his father in himself.


	9. Passion

He was dressed in his best dress robes, and had his hair slicked back so that the pesky strands would not fall into his eyes. Instead of traditional Slytherin green dress shirt, however, his shirt was a nice sapphire blue which perfectly complimented his hair and made his shining silver eyes more pronounced.

"You look wonderful, darling." Narcissa smiled from the door frame as she watched her son in the mirror. He turned back to face her, the slightest of smiles pulling on his lips. Like her son, Narcissa wore an elegant sapphire dress which contrasted beautifully against her pale skin.

"Where's father?" Draco asked.

"I don't know." She answered simply, allowing her smile to fade for only a moment. "The Minister has already arrived."

"That's good. I'll be down in a moment." He replied and she nodded.

"The Greengrass family is here, too."

Draco remained silent as he stared across the room at his mother. "I'm sure a number of people are here."

"I thought you wanted to know."

"Why's that?" Draco's voice had a defensive edge he couldn't hide, or even pretend it wasn't there, but thankfully, his mother was not Hermione or Astoria, both of whom would've commented on it.

"Well, you seem to be in much better spirits since you've acquainted yourself with Astoria." She answered simply. She had certainly noticed the change in her son, and after the encounter at the Weasley's she was more than satisfied that the younger Greengrass daughter was the source of the change.

"I don't know what you're talking about, mother."

"Well, she asked about you." She replied, standing straighter as Draco approached her. "She seems to be rather taken with you."

"There's nothing between us, Mother. Don't be ridiculous. I went to Hogwarts with her, just like Hermione and Luna."

"Yes, you do seem to keep a lot of female company." Narcissa commented as she followed Draco down the corridor towards the staircase.

"Well, you always said women were much better at forgiving. Did you ever consider that Astoria, Hermione, and Luna are the only ones who want to be around me and don't blame me for some unknown number of things?"

"No, Draco." Narcissa replied softly. She'd long ago come to the conclusion that once Malfoy men made up their minds, very little could change them. She had, of course, tried to understand their ways, but never could, even though she had certain personality traits which she shared with her family members, particularly her sister. She had given up everything she held dear for her love of a man whom her family did not accept, and similarly, Narcissa had betrayed Voldermolt and every belief she ever had to ensure her son's safety, all out of love.

"I suppose I never did consider that." Narcissa perfected her smile once more, though it had never taken her much work to appear graceful. It had always been one of her traits, and certainly one Lucius had always admired. The same could not be said about her persistence, however.

In the grand ball room, a number of people were engaged in conversations and in the center of the room, couples swept across the dance floor, their dresses and dress robes flowing behind them beautifully. But, in Draco's eyes, it was hard for anyone not to look beautiful when in the Malfoy Manor. When surrounded by such prestige and elegance, one's person did not make much difference.

"I was wondering when I would see you, again." Hermione's voice floated around him, and as he turned back, found the beautiful brunette standing just a few feet away from him.

"I guess I've been a bit busy."

"So I've heard." She replied but Draco ignored the comment as best he could. It was one thing to deny anything to his mother, but another to deny them to Hermione, a person who always made a point to prove their correctness. "Doing any productive lately?"

"Not really," Draco answered honestly as he walked with Hermione along the edges of the ballroom. "Pick the flowers for your wedding yet?"

"What?" Hermione stopped walking and Draco turned to her, only to find her cheeks were the color of Ron Weasley's hair. "How did you know?"

"You are joking, right?" Draco replied, one eye brow raised. "I might not have been around lately, but I saw you two in Diagon Alley not a week ago. And you were hanging all over him."

Hermione swallowed as she turned away from Draco's gaze and continued walking. "We are trying to keep it secret as long as possible, if you don't mind." She said under her breath, and missed the expression across Draco's face.

"You're mad to think it'll actually be a secret. People inevitably know."

"That is not possible. We have taken every precaution." Hermione informed him as she stopped and spun on her heel to face him. With a strong look on her face, she peered up at Draco, and he could tell she honestly believed her words.

"That doesn't matter." He responded simply. "I understand that you're new to the whole life in the spotlight thing, but I thought you were smarter, Hermione. Honestly."

"What are you talking about?"

"He bought a ring from somebody, didn't he?" Draco replied. "And your faces are known all over the world. Obviously he bought an engagement ring for someone, and everybody who has the capability to read knows it's you. Secondly, I'm fairly certain you've told your family, and his. Disregarding any jokes, that's a lot of people already, Hermione. Then there's my mother. She'll tell the whole world once she finds out."

Hermione sighed as she stared into Draco's eyes. For once, he was right, and she expected him to flaunt it. Instead, he continued walking and looked back at her when she didn't follow right away.

"Well, how much time do you think we have?" She asked.

"A month, if you're lucky." Draco answered. "Important people don't get to keep secrets at no cost, Hermione."

"So it would seem." She replied, somewhat bitterly but Draco only laughed. As the two approached Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, both of whom only nodded respectfully in the general direction of Draco Malfoy, they parted ways, but not, however, before Hermione noted the change in Draco's eyes and face.

"You look quite charming, tonight." A second female voice floated around Draco that night, and as he turned, he found the sapphire eyes of Astoria Greengrass, and for a moment that was all he saw. Then, as he processed the rest of her beauty, he admired the beautiful cut of her soft blue dress which clung to her body perfectly. Of course, her delicate frame was already something other women envied her for, but she displayed it perfectly in the dress she chose, without revealing so much of her skin to be thought cheap.

"As do you." Draco replied as he smiled down at her.

"You've certainly created quite the dinner party." She commented as she turned to look around at the crowds. Near every exit, stationed Aurors were on duty, to ensure the safety of the many high profile witches and wizards in attendance, namely Harry Potter and the Minister of magic.

"It was all my mother." Draco replied simply as Astoria's attention returned to him.

"I believe that." She laughed slightly and for a moment they only stared at one another until the song ended and a new started to play. Draco saw the smile across Astoria's face start to widen, and held out his hand.

"Care to dance?" He asked and watched her eyes brighten even more, if that had been possible at all. She put her hand in his and together they walked to the center of the dance floor. Naturally, both had been taught to dance when they were children, as they were heirs to important pureblood lines, but Draco and Astoria moved with a kind of grace a person who simply knew the steps could not imitate.

They, of course, had become wrapped up in one another, that as they glided through the dance floor, they didn't notice other couples escaping the dancing area, knowing they could not compete with two graceful young lovers caught in the passion of a single moment.


	10. Truth

The majority of the guests had already left, leaving behind only a few families. Narcissa, a talented people person, was engaged in a lively conversation with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, though Ron was only standing near Harry because he was unfamiliar with most everyone else. The Greengrass family was still at Malfoy Manor, for they were discussing new Ministry policy with Hermione, and somewhere in the corner Ginny Weasley sat waiting eagerly to leave.

And while he presence had once been enough to drive Draco insane, he hardly noticed her as he and Astoria shared their third dance for the night in the center of the almost empty ball room. More than once, he had found his lips coming dangerously close to hers, and as he moved away before they brushed, he had seen the instantaneous flash in her eyes which faded as soon as it had come. It wasn't that he didn't desire her, for it would take a fool not to want Astoria Greengrass, but he saw life in a very different way than he once had.

To him, Astoria had been lucky to escape the many horrors strung together that made up the war. As such, she should enjoy the simplistic outlook on life which she carried. Draco felt as though Astoria, a bright Ravenclaw witch, had much more to offer the world than her services at a bookstore and a bar. He wanted her to experience life the way he feared he never would, for he had been too scared to ever look at life's possibilities the way she did.

"I had a wonderful time." Astoria spoke softly as their dance came to an end, though Draco had yet to release her from his grasp.

"So did I," he responded softly, slowly moving his hands from the small of her back to her waist.

"Did you?" She asked as she looked up at him and he nodded softly. "And you didn't even want to come." She teased as she let out a soft laugh. He smiled at her as he let her slowly walk out of his arms, though he followed her to the table along one of the walls were the food was sitting.

"Well, I'm glad I did." Astoria glanced over her shoulder at him, but only smiled at him for a moment before she turned her attention to what little amounts of food were left.

"You seem different to me, though." She commented without looking at him. Instead, she was keeping her hands busy as she collected bits of food that looked appealing on her plate, Draco trailing behind her as she walked along the table.

"How's that?"

"I-" Astoria started but stopped and rose a small piece of chocolate to her lips. Draco could tell, though, that she had stopped herself from saying something. "I don't really know, I suppose."

Silence fell around them, once more, and for the first time Astoria felt awkward about the silence between them. As she found a seat, Draco sat across from her, his shining grey eyes watching her carefully, doing their best not to take note of the fading shine in her blue eyes.

"Are you still working at the bookstore and the bar?" Draco asked and Astoria eyed him before taking a bite of her food.

"You know I am, Draco." She told him.

"Right." He nodded softly but didn't remove his gaze from her.

"Why do you ask?"

"Only curious why someone like you would want to be working in Diagon Alley." He answered and Astoria paused as she raised her eyes to him. Where her eyes had once shone with innocence he did not understand, they now held a kind of anger he had never seen in her before.

"You sound like my father." She accused simply. Astoria was never one to elaborate on her feelings and at times that quality, Draco found, had its setbacks.

"Well, I'm sure you could get a high position within the Ministry. You're talented, Astoria."

"And you, Draco?" She replied. "Could you not as well?"

"That's different." His voice carried the edge he seemed to be unable to control.

"Really?" Astoria's doubt was evident in her voice, but Draco knew she was not one to use sarcasm, especially in an argument. "How is it different, Draco?"

"I could never work for the Ministry, Astoria. They nearly destroyed us."

"Under a different Minister. During a different life time, Draco. Things are like that anymore, and I hate it when you pretend you're the only one who was affected by everything that happened."

"And how do I do that?" Draco replied.

"What you're doing now. Telling me that I should go work for the Ministry you won't even set foot in."

"I can't work for the Ministry at all, Astoria. It's my choice. I'm a-" He started but stopped, not because he didn't want to tell her, but because he had spent the last year convincing himself it wasn't true. To admit it, even to Astoria, would make it very true all over again. "They wouldn't have me, Astoria." He told her simply before he rose from his chair and started to walk towards the back entrance of the ball room, which was a quicker way to reach his bedroom on the floor above.

"So that's it, then?" Astoria called out across the ballroom and as he turned back, found her standing a few feet away from the table. Just because Astoria was generally a gentle and sweet girl, Draco knew all women could stand up for themselves and the things they loved when pushed to a certain point. Ginny had been that way as well, but he couldn't imagine what had pushed Astoria to reprimand him in a ballroom filled with his acquaintances and her family.

"That's it for what?" Draco replied, his voice becoming defensive in response to the audience to their conversation.

"Apparently nothing since you can't even say it." She answered simply. "You have, after all, decided how things were to work out, and therefore there is no need to consider anybody else." 

He knew the implication of her words, but he could not fathom how she could say them. Yes, he'd wanted her to the extent where he doubted he could hold back any longer, but he had also spent time convincing himself that it was only him. Astoria could never want a man as damaged as he was.

"That's not it at all."

"Well, that's how it seems when you tell me how things are, then walk away completely sure of yourself. As I recall, your father had that very same problem."

Even from across the room, Astoria could see the thin line she had crossed as his grey eyes seemed to darken enough to chill the entire room. He did not, however, respond to her. Instead, he turned away from her once more, and continued to walk out of the ballroom as he tried to understand how it was possible for a heart to take so many blows before it finally gave up. But, Draco realized as he hurried up the back staircase, her words only seemed hurtful at first. What had really stung, was their truth, and Astoria's keen eye for the truth had always been one of the things he admired her for. He had just never anticipated that one day he would force her to use it against him.


	11. Kiss

He didn't know what he wanted to say, but hoped that once he looked into her eyes, something to say would occur to him. If not, then he counted on her never ending patience to give him time to figure it out. Really, all Draco knew was that he had to find her. He was fairly certain she would be meeting him for lunch, and so he passed the café glancing inside for only a moment to confirm that she was not there. He continued down Diagon Alley until her reached the bookstore, thankful to see her dark curls as she exited the building.

"Astoria." He called for her as he reached the store front. She only turned and watched him as he approached her, her eyes missing the shine that had once enchanted him.

"What are you doing here, Draco?" She asked simply as she adjusted the back hanging from her shoulder before she started to walk. Draco followed alongside her.

"I came to talk to you."

"Well, I only have a few moments." She told him without facing him.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to France, Draco. I leave tomorrow."

"France?" Draco repeated as he stopped and reached out for her shoulder. She stopped as well, and faced him, her expression showing no emotion which he could detect, but he had never been particularly adept at reading faces. "Why? For what?"

"I'm working with the Ministry." She answered simply as she started to walk once more, leaving Draco to catch up. "Like you suggested."

"Were you going to tell me?"

"Why would it matter, Draco?" Astoria stopped on her own and faced him. This time, he could see the hurt in her eyes, even if it was only evident for just a moment.

"Because I-" He stopped as he stared at her.

"Exactly." She replied softly as she started to turn away from him, but did not take a step.

"Will I see you again?"

"I don't know. Maybe at a Ministry function if your mother is still up to hosting them." She suggested.

"How long will you be there?" Draco asked, unsure of what else there was to say.

"A year." She answered as she peered at him over her shoulder. "Only a year."

"Only a year?" He repeated as though she didn't realize exactly how long one year could be. That of course, was ridiculous and he knew that. Astoria was not one to get herself into something without knowing all the details. "Because of the dinner party?"

"No." She answered softly as she turned her gaze downward as she slowed to a stop.

"Then what?" Draco asked.

"Why do you care, Draco?" She turned her gaze to him and waited for an answer, but it never came. "Why does it bother you so much that I'm leaving on such short notice without telling you? You couldn't even kiss me and yet you make it sound as though it's some betrayal for me to walk away from you."

Draco remained silent, only because he always found that arguing with people who were correct never had favorable results. "What do you want from me?" He finally asked. "You want me to say we should be together when I know what it's like to be stuck with a Malfoy?"

"Well, if we had anything in common at all, Draco, it was that we were never who our families wanted us to be."

Again, she was right. Draco could not imagine that two nowhere jobs was what the Greengrass family had in mind for their smarter daughter, though only Draco was willing to say Astoria's intelligence was superior to that of Daphne's. Then there was him, a young child in many ways who had ultimately been the cause of his family's switch to the other side during the final hours of the war. Surely, that had never been in his father's plans for him.

"So you're just going to leave, then?"

"That was the plan, yes." She answered as she nodded. "But the position I accepted is by contract so if I don't like it I'll be back in a year."

"And if you do like it?"

"Then I suppose we could have coffee before my next assignment." She responded, watching Draco's grey eyes become even more devoid of color.

"Well, have fun then." Draco said, his voice more distant than Astoria had ever heard it, as he took one step back from her.

"I'll miss you, Draco." Astoria told him softly as she stepped forward, closing the gap he'd tried to create. She lifted herself onto her toes, the only way she could ever reach his lips, and gently stole from him the kiss she had been eager to receive nights ago. Doing his best to keep his feelings under reserve, Draco kissed back lightly, not allowing himself to wrap his arms around her, for fear he would not let her go once more.

"And I already knew." Astoria whispered between her lips as she pulled away from him, her right hand moving down his left arm until she stopped on his forearm, the exact spot where, beneath his shirt sleeve, his skin was damaged by black ink the shape of a mark he'd spent months trying to pretend wasn't there. "You didn't have to walk away from me because you couldn't tell me what haunted you."

"Then why?" Draco replied, breathlessly, finding it difficult to catch his breath after sharing the briefest of kisses with a woman he'd dreamt of.

"Sometimes you have to tell people things so they will trust you. How was I ever supposed to trust you when you couldn't tell me anything real about you?"

"Well how do you expect me to let you be with a Death Eater?" He responded, his tone as sharp as his words, though Astoria knew it wasn't because he was mad at her. He was disgusted with himself.

"I thought you knew I never judged you by what anybody said about you." She replied softly as she released his marked arm and took a step back. "Why would I ever judge you for something on your skin?"

Silent, and again lost for words, Draco stared at Astoria, who surprised him with her ability to keep tears in her eyes. "Good bye." She whispered softly when she realized he had no answer for her. It was painfully clear to both that he had expected her to be as cruel and judgmental as everybody else when all she had ever seen in him was the Draco he wanted to be. Again, it was clear to him how well she could see things in others when they could not see it in themselves.

"Good bye."


	12. Teddy

He was determined not to walk into the bar he had frequented before Astoria had appeared. As a result, he wound up at the Weasley's more often than he would've cared, each time explaining he wanted to see his dear young cousin. At first, of course, he simply sat in his seat staring down at the three year old, completely detached from the boy. The problem was that he couldn't understand the makings of a child. Draco could not fathom how a child, especially a child with blood from the Black family, could be so entertained for so long with something as trivial as a simple ball. Sure, it bounced and rolled, but ultimately it was a ball.

"Sometimes it helps if you actually try to play with him." Hermione commented from the far corner of the room and Draco peered up at her.

"He's not all that interested in me." Draco assured her, but she rolled her eyes as she sighed and crossed the room to sit beside him.

"I didn't know, at first, why you were coming." She admitted but Draco was not under the impression she still did not know. Hermione was a bright witch, and quite possibly brighter than Astoria. "But I do on occasion file the contracts the Ministry has with outsource witches and wizards who do their bidding."

"That's fascinating." Draco replied, still watching the blue haired toddler watch his ball with wide eyes. "Why does he keep changing his hair color?"

"He doesn't know he's doing it." Hermione answered simply. "Did you even try to talk to her?"

"What is with your interest in my personal life?" Draco sighed as he faced Hermione but she only stared at him, much like Astoria would have done.

"Well, I was always under the impression we were acquaintances if nothing else."

"And that warrants questions about a girl who I never officially dated?"

"Well, you commented on my marital status." She replied simply and Draco let out a dry laugh. Of course Hermione would remember something he thought was trivial, then find some way to use it against him. "It's only a year, Draco."

"I spent a year drunk, Hermione. I know exactly how long a year can drag on for."

"Well, you haven't started drinking yet."

"And you know that how?" He asked curiously.

"Because sometimes people watch out for people who can't watch out for themselves." Hermione answered, and her words reminded Draco of his mother.

"And how do you mean that?" Draco turned to her but she smiled as she rose from her feet. She took a few steps towards Teddy then lifted him off the ground. As he turned, she placed him in Draco's lap, despite his protest.

"Let's just say you might be banned for all the places I Diagon Alley which sell alcohol, because somebody let them know you were known to start fights when drunk."

"That's very stubble for you, Granger. I'd expected something more like flashing signs from you."

"And why is that?" Hermione asked, smiling at the entertainment she received from something as simple as a witty conversation with a man known for his wits.

"Because whenever Ron and Harry got themselves in more trouble than they could comprehend, you always came in with a big bang and shifted all the attention onto you."

"Things have changed since then, Draco."

"That's what people keep telling me, and yet I fail to see how things have changed. I certainly feel as broken as I was over a year ago. Except this time I'm sober and can feel the full depth of that brokenness."

"Don't be so sour, Draco. You have a cousin who loves you." Hermione replied before walking away, not giving him a chance to respond. Draco only sighed as he turned down to Teddy, only to find the boy had copied Draco's hair color.

"You do know you're changing your hair color. You're a Black. You've always got something up your sleeve, just like Malfoys. Except Blacks are much better at keeping things in their sleeves, so I suppose you've got that going for you, don't you?"


	13. Love

It was inevitable, really. He even questioned how it was even possible that it hadn't happened until that moment, but those thoughts were immediately pushed to the back of his mind as he stared across the room at Ginny, little Teddy Lupin playing in between them on the carpet with his muggle toys.

"Hermione mentioned that you were here." She said simply as she continued to stare at him from her side of the room, which had seemed to quickly shrink in size in a matter of moments.

"I'm here a lot, actually." He responded, his voice carrying a tone that sounded happier than he truly was. Yes, he was not depressed and drinking, but he wasn't happy either. But he figured no man could really ever be happy after watching a woman they knew could be worth the world walk away from them, and nothing to stop her.

"Finally." She said back before she glanced at Teddy who had turned four recently. "Only took you a few years to remember you had family? Or do Malfoys disregard family?"

"I wouldn't be here if that were true." Draco responded, again finding that defensive edge to his voice he had yet to learn how to control. He hadn't always been so transparent in his voice, but like many other things about him, it seemed to change over the course of the war and its aftermath.

"You'd have come sooner if it wasn't."

"Well, not everybody can so easily prioritize the things that important like you may be able to." His defensive edge was present, but he had meant for it to be there, for both knew his words had a far deeper implication than that of Teddy's play dates.

"Is that what you think happened?"

"Well, I assume I was put on some sort of list." He responded with a sigh as he turned his attention to Teddy once more. He didn't want to argue with her about things that had happened some two and half years prior. He didn't really care. Yes, she might've left her name scared across his heart, but her name wasn't the only one there anymore, and hers certainly wasn't the open wound either.

"And where do you suppose you placed on that list, then?" Ginny asked.

"After your family." He replied simply, still watching Teddy, then smiled as he sported bright pink hair, indicative of his mother. He was sure somebody had shown his old pictures of his parents, but Draco doubted a child's mind really understood the workings of life and death. And over the last few months, Draco had become very protective of little Teddy, desperately wanting him to have a mindset drastically different than his own. Draco knew he was cynical and couldn't accept love at face value, and refused to allow Teddy be the same way.

"And I wouldn't have ranked the same on your list?" Ginny asked and Draco finally looked up at her.

"Why does it matter anymore? You got everything you ever wanted and more, Ginny. You got more than I could've ever given you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked breathlessly as she crossed the room and stared up at Draco. "That I wanted to be followed by idiots with cameras and the inability to write a true story?"

"It's called famous." Draco corrected before letting her continue.

"You think I wanted this?"

"What girl doesn't?" He replied as he looked into her brown eyes, finding them far less interesting than he once thought they were. "Besides, you may be many things, Ginny Weasley, but stupid is not one of them. I trust you knew that was sort of a package deal with Potter."

"That's beside the point, Draco. All I ever wanted was to love and to be loved. That's all anybody wants. Especially us."

"How do you mean?" He replied as he watched her carefully. She stepped away from him before she bent down to touch Teddy's delicate head of hair.

"Anyone who went to Hogwarts with us, or immediately after us saw too much battle and bloodshed to want anything more than love from somebody who understood it wasn't like the way the Ministry reported it to the world. It wasn't simple like they said it was and it wasn't clean. It was easy for them to say the names of everyone who was killed but how easy was it to run through that destroyed room crying because you can't find your brother? Or your best friend? And you call for them but you never hear their voice again. It wasn't like the way it reads, Draco, and we know this best of all."

"I never read the reports. Never listened to them. I didn't want to know." He replied, but he understood why she would've been so interested. She had lost more people than Draco considered close.

"The rest of the world wanted to know." She answered. "But they don't understand what it was like for us, and I wasn't even really there."

"That night," Draco started as he looked into Ginny's eyes once more. He was slowly starting to understand what she meant. "Do you remember if Astoria was there with you? In the Room of Requirement?"

"She was there." Ginny answered. "She was fifteen, Draco. She had no intention of fighting."

"I know." He nodded and she eyed him carefully.

"She couldn't find her sister that night, and when everyone heard that she was looking for Daphne, everyone all but accused her of being a Death Eater, based solely on the fact that she was a Slytherin. And Astoria cried, but I don't think it was because of that."

"I don't understand."

"She thought she lost her sister already." Ginny answered. "Just like I cried when Ron went months without contacting me. Whether the loss is real or not, once you're destroyed by it, all you want is to know they're still breathing and that you can love them still."

Draco only stared at Ginny, amazed at how much sense people could make when he actually stopped to listen. He'd never understood that seemingly innocent look in Astoria' eye, and it took an old love for him to finally realize that Astoria did not look at him with innocence staining her sight. She admired him with pure hope that tomorrow everyone she knows will still be alive. It was the same hope that had reawakened his mother. It was something as pure as innocence, but he had been right from the start. Nobody in the world he knew could have innocence after such bloodshed. All they could ever have was hope and love, and while Astoria had hope, all she needed was love.


	14. Twice

"How much time do you have?" Draco asked as he gazed across the table at Astoria. After a series of letters, she had finally agreed to take time to meet him, even if only for a day.

"About an hour." She answered as she wrapped her small fingers around her hot cup. "They'll be expecting me back after that."

"What are you doing?"

"I can't tell you, Draco, you know that." She replied, a soft smile on her lips as she leaned forward, her elbows resting on the edge of the table. "I'm on contract with the Ministry."

"Do you like it?"

"It's faster paced work than the bookstore." She replied with a soft laugh. "And I get to use some magic, so I suppose it's not all bad."

"But?" Draco probed, sensing Astoria was not entirely thrilled about the position she had taken with the Ministry.

"I miss you." She answered, her smile falling from her lips as she stared into Draco's grey eyes. The last memory she had of him, his eyes had been so void of light that she tried to never think of it. Now, his eyes shone once more, and as though the light in his eyes was directly related to her, the light dimmed when her smile faded.

"I miss you too." He responded. He'd told her that many times in their letters, but it was different to let the words fall from his lips rather than the tip of his quill, just as it felt entirely different to hear her voice say the words he had only read in her handwriting until that point.

"I don't want to be here." Draco finally said as he rose from his seat and held out his hand for her to take. "Some private?"

"Yes." She nodded in agreement as she placed her hand in his for the first in what felt like years to her. Though it was only a moment, long enough for him to Apparate, she enjoyed the feel of his rough hand curled around her delicate one.

"I'm sorry." He told her as he released her hand stepped back from her. She took only a moment to glance at her surroundings, but ultimately, her attention remained on him. She figured he had taken her Malfoy Manor anyway.

"For what?"

"For everything." He answered. "For not believing in you, and us."

"Why did you have to make things so hard?" She asked him, willing herself not to produce tears. She stepped towards him, hoping that any moment he would take her into his arms, but he only reached out slowly to stroke her cheek with the back of his finger. "Wasn't it enough, just for us to be together, Draco?"

"Yes." He answered breathlessly, his other hand reaching for her waist. "Yes, Astoria. That was what I wanted." He told her before he pressed his lips to her forehead, and for a moment, took in the feel of her smooth skin and the fresh smell of her long dark locks. "I just… I wanted you to have something better."

"I don't want better, Draco." She mumbled into his chest, her arms resting against his body as he finally wrapped his arms around her. For the first time, he felt her body completely pressed against his, without any swift dancing motions in progress. Though he certainly had his share of sexual feelings towards her, the embrace was purely sensual and emotional.

With one arm wrapped around her, his other hand was on the back of her head, holding her close to him, as he pressed his lips to her forehead and hair. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself onto her toes in the process. As he turned his head, and she hers, their lips met in a much deeper kiss than the previous one they had shared. And though he wanted to keep their encounter as sensual as possible, he could not help the number of feelings she excited within him, especially as they kissed, her body pressed against his.

He heard a half gasp half moan escape her lips as he pulled away from them and instead turned his attention to her neck. As he kissed, he felt her fingers working through his blonde hair and every time he passed an especially sensitive spot, she moaned and her fingers tugged on his hair. "Draco." Astoria said his name in a way that drove him wild, and made him want to experience so much more with her.

"Stop," She half pleaded as she tried to pull away from him as he finally released her. "I have to go."

"No." Draco shook his head as he reached out for her with one hand. "Just a moment longer."

"I can't." She told him, though she stepped towards him once more and felt his embrace again. "I only have a few months."

"I can't go months, Astoria. Not without you." He whispered in her ear, but was careful not to press his lips to her skin again.

"I'll come back, Draco." She promised him as she tried to step away from him again. He nodded softly as he released her and swallowed, but she saw the flash in his eyes. "What is it?" She asked softly.

"Nothing." He answered. "I just… I want you, Astoria. I've wanted you for so long."

"There's something else, Draco. What is it?"

He hadn't wanted to tell her, and it amazed him that she had even seen it at all. "That was what she told me before she left, and she never came back. That was the last thing she said to me for years."

Astoria understood why the words would affect him so, and tried her best not be hurt that he would even think of expecting such a betrayal from her. She knew, however, that he had been hurt in ways she never had, except by him. Where Draco was left with memories of his first love, she was just experience hers, but she had never told him that he was her first love.

"I will come back." She repeated as she reached out to touch his cheek softly. "I promise you, Draco. Please wait for me."

"Of course I will." He answered putting his hand over hers. "I've waited this long haven't I?"

She smiled weakly at him, happy he trusted her at last with something as delicate and precious as he heart, but saddened that she could accept it entirely just yet. Before he could see the tears fall from her eyes, she released his cheek, stepped back, and with a pop echoing off the wall, she was gone. Twice, Draco had experienced something that would be both a dream and a nightmare which haunted him, then watched her leave him to hope the taste of her lips would not fade.


	15. Family

"You're smiling." Ron accused, his voice harsher than Hermione liked, and as a result she had hit him with her hand lightly.

"I'm happy, is that alright?" Draco replied staring at the red headed man whom he doubted he would ever understand.

"You're never happy."

"Ronald." Hermione groaned as she stared at him. "Have you no manners at all?"

"Well, I think the necessity of manners starts to fade after we've all seen each other almost die." Draco proposed and Ron quickly started to agree, knowing it was a plausible explanation for his behavior which Hermione would accept, even if it was Draco's idea.

"Why are you happy, Draco?" Hermione gave up on Ron and turned to him.

"We're at your engagement party," he responded as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Can't I be happy for you?"

"Well, yes of course, but you've never been that selfless, Draco. It's not in your nature to allow the happiness of other to affect you directly, even if you may care about them."

"That sounded a lot meaner than you intended, I'm sure." Draco responded, ignoring the comment for only a moment. He took a sip of water from the glass in his hand before he peered at Hermione again. "Astoria came to see me a week ago."

"Then I was right." Hermione replied but Draco sneered at her before he turned to Ron.

"Where are you going to have the wedding?" Draco asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Here, of course." Ron answered before Hermione had the chance. Draco rose an eyebrow at him before he eyed Hermione.

"Perhaps a conversation about location should take place between you." Draco suggested before he noticed Harry and Ginny coming down the stairs in the corner of the room. Ginny didn't have to have an engagement diamond upon her finger for Draco to see in their eyes. It wasn't so much in her eyes as much as it was in his doting look and his hand on the small of her back. In all the years Draco had know Harry Potter, even if not personally, he had never been a man for public displays of affection, except for times of dire circumstance, and those always seemed to include Ginny.

"An engagement gift." Harry announced as he neared Hermione and Ron, Ginny at his side, and lowered a small box between his two friends.

"Harry, you didn't have to." Hermione said, but Ron had already taken the box from his hand. Draco couldn't stop the cynical side him noting that it was probably only so that he and Ginny would get an engagement gift back as well some time down the road when they announced their plans to marry. That was, of course, if Hermione didn't figure it out before then.

"Of course I did. You're my best friends." He replied as he and Ginny shared an arm chair off to the side of the couch where Hermione and Ron sat. Draco only watched as Ron opened the box to find a rather sentimental picture of Ron and Hermione together when they were much younger. "It's from our second year." Harry told them, in case they couldn't remember the picture.

"That's sweet, Harry." Hermione smiled at him while Ron only stared at the picture with narrowed eyes. As Hermione turned back to him, she noticed his odd behavior but knew better than to ask.

Draco, however, didn't. "What are you looking at?" He sighed heavily. Draco, who could understand the most complex of potions and spells, could not even understand the most basic parts that made up Ron Weasley.

"I think you were mad at me when this was taken." Ron declared as he turned to Hermione.

"Ron," Ginny started but sighed and shook her head. At least Draco knew he wasn't the only one struggle to understand how Ron's mind worked.

"Mate, it'd be a miracle if we could find a picture taken on a day where she wasn't mad at you." Harry said quite bluntly, though Hermione did not comment on the photo at all. Silence followed as Ron continued to study the picture, and everyone let him be. In the distance, they could hear the sound of the door opening, but nobody bothered to see who else had arrived. After all, Hermione and Ron were forced to invite a fair number of people, even if they were particularly close to them. Draco could only explain it to them as the effect of popularity.

"Drake?" Teddy's childlike voice turned everyone's attention to the doorway, where little Teddy was standing beside Andromeda, a woman whom Draco was sure he would never meet.

"Teddy, there you are." Draco called to him as he released his grandmother's fingers and wobbled across the room as fast as his little legs allowed. Draco bent down to the boy while Hermione rose to her feet and went to greet Andromeda.

"I'm so glad you came." Hermione said and Draco watched as his aunt reached out to touch Hermione's cheek.

"Of course, I came. I would never miss your engagement party, Hermione. I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you." She replied still smiling as the two turned back to the room, though Andromeda's attention laid only on her grandson and the blonde man she knew as her nephew, though she had never seen him other than the pictures in the newspaper. When Draco noticed her, he released Teddy's hands and rose to his feet to face her.

"I'm Draco." He said simply, hoping that was all that needed to be said. Instead of responding, however, she simply pulled the tall man into her arms and hugged him tightly.

"You look like your grandfather. My father." She said softly before she released him and smiled at him. "It's your nose."

Draco only laughed as he nodded. "That's what I've heard."

Only a few moments passed before Molly Weasley and Narcissa descended the stairs, but Narcissa paused at the last step as she looked upon her son and sister, between them a blonde Teddy playing. Draco couldn't see, but behind him Harry and Ginny saw a potentially dangerous scene playing before them, but Hermione knew much better. Narcissa was a woman of elegance and class, and would never create a scene, especially in another's home. She hoped, however, that Andromeda was the same.

"You look wonderful," Narcissa's gentle voice turned Andromeda's attention towards the staircase, and Draco turned as well, but his focus was broken when Teddy pulled on his pant leg.

"Thank you," Andromeda responded, a soft smile on her lips.

Hermione could remember the pair of sisters standing behind Voldermolt and basking in his short lived victory, but before her, she watched a pair of sisters, both of whom, were driven by love to protect those closest to them, even if it meant giving up something else of importance. Andromeda had given up her family and in exchange received a beautiful and talented daughter, who in turn gave her life for a cause she knew would prevail. And again, Andromeda was left with a darling grandson. Narcissa, alike, gave up the values she'd been taught through childhood, and before her, her son lived, damaged as he may be, but alive, and completely capable of love.


	16. Plans

It was a comfortable quietness that surrounded Draco and Hermione as they sat across from one another at a table in the Weasley household. While Hermione carefully addressed each envelope, Draco folded every invitation carefully, so as to match Hermione's model. On his right, a stack of finished, ready to be sent, invitations were piling up.

"Why am I the one doing these with you?" Draco asked curiously. "You know, instead of your fiancé?"

"Because Ron," Hermione started then paused as she finished up the name she was writing, "would mess everything up. You're precise."

"Ginny's precise." Draco countered. "And even Harry, if you don't mind rewriting just a few letters."

"Well," Hermione looked up at Draco, the quill still in her hand. "Ginny and Harry do not have drunk tendencies as you do, and nobody has asked me to keep them from the bars."

"Really, Hermione? Do I warrant a baby sitter?" Draco replied and Hermione only shook her head.

"I don't think so, but Astoria asked me."

"That's even more comforting." Draco replied dryly but Hermione let out a soft laugh. "Glad she has faith in me."

"You should be. I've never seen somebody have so much faith in you, except maybe your mother." Hermione told him before she returned her attention to the invitations.

"I haven't had a drink in months."

"I believe you, Draco." Hermione assured him but he still watched her with narrowed eyes. "But I am not the one you should be concerned with."

Draco didn't respond, and finally returned to his work. He could not, however, focus as completely as before, for a good portion of his attention was spent on Astoria. Hermione noticed, and soon paused what she was doing to look at him.

"When is she coming back?"

"Few months." Draco answered simply without looking up at her, but when he sensed her lingering gaze, he too looked up. "Why?"

"Just curious as to when you'll be rejoining society." She replied. "And besides, it was your idea for you to take the job."

"Thank you for reminding me. I almost forgot that piece of information."

"You just need something to occupy your time." Hermione suggested in all seriousness, and he could tell from the tone of her voice.

"And what do you suggest?"

"A job, Draco. That's what she was doing before you decided to-"

"Yes, I remember." Draco stopped her as he groaned and turned his attention to the letters once more.

"Maybe you should open an apothecary." Hermione suggest and Draco eyed her.

"Where?"

"I heard the building where Olivander's used to be is still open." She answered. "And you've always been rather talented with potions. You can sell ingredients and vials for students and the harder potions premade for people who need them."

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

"It wasn't my idea, Draco." She assured him as she lifted her quill once more and returned to her wedding invitations. Letting the conversation end, Draco, too, returned to the task at hand.

**X**

"Something on your mind, Draco?" Narcissa asked as she stared across the table at her son. Between them sat Lucius, but neither paid him any attention until he commanded it.

"Just a thought I've been entertaining about opening an Apothecary." He replied as he continued to push the food around his plate. When he mother didn't respond, he peered up to her simply staring back at him, her smile ever present.

"That sounds wonderful."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her but did not respond to her.

"Where did you get that idea?"

"Hermione." Draco answered and Narcissa nodded before she took a bite of her food.

"What do you think, Lucius?" She asked as she turned to her husband, a man who had not yet recovered from his dramatic fall from grace. Where Narcissa was smiles and warm thoughts, Lucius was perpetually angry and never had a good word for anyone.

"With what money?" he spat back at his happy wife who did not deserve such attitudes.

"With ours, of course." Narcissa responded, her tone as light hearted as though Lucius had not just expressed his dislike for the idea. Turning back to her son she found a second set of narrowed eyes staring at her, but Draco's accusing stare was not nearly as harsh as Lucius'.

"It was your idea wasn't it?" Draco replied. "Hermione said it wasn't hers."

"Why would a-" Lucius started but Narcissa's warm demeanor had turned protective and sour in all of two seconds as she turned towards him, simply daring him to call Hermione a derogatory name with the intense look casted over her eyes.

"I might've mentioned how you loved to pass time in the summer before the war to her and Molly." Narcissa admitted as she slowly returned her attention to Draco. "We could simply buy one of the torn down buildings in Diagon Alley and rebuild for you, Draco. It would be wonderful, don't you think?"

"With my money?" Lucius' cold voice floated between his son and wife, but only Narcissa faced him for the second time.

"If you insist of sulking in you vast amounts of gold, then so be it, Lucius. There is a fair amount of Black money left, none of which is yours."

"No that belongs to your sister. You haven't a penny to your name."

"So much better to have lots of money, but never see the light of day, is it now?" Narcissa responded simply before she faced Draco, a smile on her lips. "Andy would be more than happy to help you with _our_ money, Draco."

"Andy? On good terms are we now?"

"Not we, darling." Narcissa answered Lucius without facing him. "It's fairly safe to say the rest of world is still not accepting of you. Draco and I, on the other hand, have embraced life."

"Life? Last I heard it was a Greengrass whore."

Narcissa was the first on her feet, her arm reaching out for her son. Not for his protection but of Lucius'. As a product of his much younger age, Draco's reflexes were much faster than his mother's, and his wand was already pointed dangerously at his father before her hand blocked the path. "Draco, shall we go for quick visit to see Hermione and Ron? They're working on seating for the wedding, and they surely could use our help since we know the garden better than they do."

"Excuse me?" Lucius, ignoring his son wand aimed towards him, rose to his feet as he stared at Narcissa. "What does my garden have to do with the Weasley wedding?"

"They're getting married here in a few months, Lucius, deal with it." Narcissa told him, her voice harsher than Draco had ever heard.


	17. Return

Without Hermione and Harry's volunteered help, it would have never been done as quickly as it was. In the ruins that were once a beloved wand shop, Draco's empty Apothecary stood. All that was left to do was stock to shelves and begin brewing various potions, though Hermione had suggested he only make potions per order rather than allow potions to sit on shelves unsold.

"It's nice." Hermione told him from where she stood behind the counter along the back wall. Behind her was the door to the back room where Draco moved his potions bench from the Malfoy Manor. In the other side of the room, Harry was looking up at the shelves Hermione had managed to restore before the restoration company started reconstructing the building.

"What is it?" Hermione asked as she watched Harry. Draco, too, turned towards him.

"Nothing." Harry answered as he shook his head and turned back to Hermione, then to Draco. While both could tell it was something, Draco knew it wasn't his place to pursue an answer, and instead turned to Hermione.

"I'm going to spend the next week stocking and then we'll have an opening."

"Think you'll need help?" she asked.

"Probably not. I can't imagine it being too busy in the middle of the school year." Draco answered but Hermione eyed him carefully.

"Except the nearest Apothecary is in Knockturn Alley, and your skills as far as potions are fairly well known." Hermione responded.

"I'll owl you if I need anything."

"Ok," She nodded as she left the counter and neared the center of the small shop. "And the deliveries?"

"Already set up, Hermione." Draco assured her as he moved to the door behind the counter and locked it before he and Harry joined her near the exit. "Everything is in order."

"Just making sure. I'd like to think I helped with something successful."

Draco didn't comment as he followed the two out of the front exit, but Hermione and Harry had continued down the street leaving Draco standing in the doorway as he stared into the bookstore across from what would become his Apothecary.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Hermione called to him but as she turned to look at the bookstore, she recognized the head of dark hair. Before she could say anything else, however, Draco was already walking across the small road. As he pulled open the door, Astoria turned and smiled at him, and for a moment all he saw was the shine in her eyes, but he quickly spotted the white bandages around her upper arm.

"Draco," Astoria stepped towards him, hoping for a warm welcome, and instead Draco remained focused on her bandaged arm.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." She answered as she reached out with her uninjured arm to stop him from touching the wrappings. "Don't worry about it. I was just going to come looking for you."

"Are you ok?"

"Draco," Astoria laughed as she entangled their fingers and lead the way towards the exit, but she turned and gave a smile to her former employer and close friend before she left with Draco in tow. "Let it be for now. I want to know why the building is restored and why your name is on the window."

As Draco turned to the building, he found Hermione and Harry were nowhere in sight, but Astoria pulling on his arm quickly diverted his attention back to her. Before he could tell her anything about his Apothecary, she was already leading him across the way. As Draco reached for his keys, Astoria simply waved her arm over the door handle and once both heard it unlock, she opened it, Draco following in behind her.

"That's really not comforting that you can gain access to anything so easily." Draco told her but she laughed as she turned and faced him. When her laughter faded and a silence fell around them, Draco took a step towards her and spoke again. "What are you doing back early?"

"Wounded." Astoria answered simply, but moved before Draco could reach out to her bandaged arm. "Let it be, Draco." She told him again. "Tell me about this." She requested as she moved to the counter and put her arms up on it as she faced him. "When did you open an Apothecary?"

"I haven't yet." He answered. "Remodeling finished yesterday, and today Hermione and Harry helped me move my potions lab from the Manor here. I open next week."

"What inspired this?"

"A bunch of little things." He answered truthfully as he stepped towards her. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, doing her best not to allow her wounded arm to interfere. Draco only pretended not to notice as he placed his hands on her waist. Leaning in slowly, Draco captured her lips with his, though the kiss only lasted a moment.

"How'd you pay for all this?"

"Well, Harry and Hermione called in some favors for me and I got most of the costs reduced that way. And my father is not happy with anything, so I borrowed the majority of the money from Andy."

Astoria narrowed her eyes at him as she stepped back, though Draco had a feeling it was so she could return her injuries arm to her side. "Andromeda?"

"Yes."

"You're talking to her?" Astoria asked in surprise, a smile across her lips. As a result, Draco found himself smiling as well.

"Yes, I am. My mother too."

"When did all this happen?" Astoria asked curiously as Draco neared her once more.

"Because I accused you of not living up to your potential and I was doing the same thing." He answered before he leaned down to put a kiss on her cheek. Astoria, however, turned her head, fully intent on receiving another kiss from him. Instead of the quick kiss he'd been expected, Draco took in the feel of her lips while returning the passion she stirred within him. With some help from him, Astoria lifted herself onto the counter behind her and the two were more evenly matched to continue the kiss both felt was long overdue. With less angling, Astoria could more comfortably put her arms around his neck, while his hands remained on her waist. They continued, and might not have stopped, had Draco not heard the sound of the door closing behind whoever had entered.

Parting from her, Draco turned, expecting Hermione, but instead found his parents staring back at him and Astoria.


	18. Dinner

If it had just been his mother, he might've been less surprised, but he could not remember the last time his father had left the grounds of Malfoy Manor, let alone watching his son kiss a woman.

"Astoria, I didn't know you were back in town." Narcissa spoke first as she left Lucius in the door way and moved towards Astoria. Draco stepped out of the way, allowing Astoria to jump to the ground before she turned to Narcissa.

"I was let out of my contract early." Astoria explained.

"Your arm, darling." Narcissa's voice was full on concern as she reached out for the arm, but again Astoria managed to dodge the contact. "You should let Draco make a nice healing paste for that. He always treated his own wounds when he was younger." Narcissa boasted but Draco mostly ignored her as he stared across the room at his father, a man who was none too pleased to find his son with a Greengrass daughter.

"I'm sure he'll make one later." Astoria responded as she reached out for Draco's hand, enjoying how open he had become to her romantically.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, his voice harsh from his father's presence, but neither Astoria nor Narcissa paid it any attention.

"We came to see if you wanted to join us for dinner," Narcissa answered but Draco eyed her carefully. "We're going out. Astoria, you'll love it there. They have bread rolls that are almost exactly like Molly's."

The two women smiled though Draco and Lucius continued to only stare at one another. Narcissa and Astoria, however, were both women who smiled their ways through situations that would make others nervous or awkward. With that in mind, Draco turned to his mother and nodded before he put his hand on the small of Astoria's back, allowing both to exit the shop before him.

"You should really use stronger protection spells." Astoria suggested as Draco locked the door behind him, but he only eyed her.

"Most people aren't as talented as you," he reminded her, a smile across his face. "And there's nothing here to get stolen yet." He pointed out before turning and walking along the path, Astoria on his right, his mother on his left. His father was on the other side, but Draco did not pay him any attention.

It was a short walk to the restaurant, and they were seated rather quickly, for the Malfoys were well known matrons at the high class restaurant.

"How was your assignment for the Ministry? I trust things went well?" Narcissa asked kindly as she looked across the table at Astoria.

"It was interesting." Astoria answered as she looked up at Narcissa.

"It's confidential, mother. It's the Ministry." Draco reminded her and she nodded as she turned to her son. Though irritated by his father's presence, Draco was still different than he had been some time ago. Astoria had changed him, and Narcissa knew she was not the only one to notice. Whether Lucius would become more open was another matter.

"Will you be considering another assignment?"

"Probably not." Astoria answered as she looked up at Narcissa. "I'm going to look into starting at the bookstore again."

"Your father lets you do that?" Lucius asked, his tone far to condescending for either of Narcissa and Draco's tastes, but Astoria turned to him smiling nonetheless.

"Of course." She answered. "There's no reason for me to be sitting around the house every day."

"And what of your sister?" Narcissa asked, sensing Lucius was ready to completely disagree with her and her father's views solely because they were the Greengrass family.

"She's a consultant to the Ministry for certain cases they deal with." Astoria answered before facing Draco, their hands intertwining beneath the table. The small talk continued until their orders were taken, after which the conversation became much deeper than Draco predicted. It seemed, however, that Astoria was much better equipped for tension, or Lucius, than Draco. It was a trait he knew she and his mother certainly had in common. He was surprised to find his father not scowling, despite the likeability of Astoria that had also affected him.

**X**

"This was an interesting night," Astoria commented as she and Draco slowly walked along the small pathway which eventually leads to the Greengrass household. While small, and more practical, in size, it was still isolated providing the family of magical people to practice without fear of muggle discovery. "Not quite what I had in mind."

"What did you have in mind?" Draco asked, feeling her shiver from the cold breeze.

"I'm not really sure." She answered as she peered up at him, finding his eyes shining like she remembered. "I didn't actually have plans other than to find you."

As they slowed to a stop outside the iron gates marking the Greengrass property line, Draco stepped closer to her. "How did you hurt your arm, Astoria?" He asked, his voice soft and low, but still riddled with concern. Astoria only stared up at him, feeling his hand reaching for her bandage.

"I got caught in crossfire." She answered softly as Draco unwrapped the bandaged, finding them becoming bloodier and bloodier as he continued. As he removed the final wrap, Astoria winced and tried to pull away from him, but he wrapped his free arm around her waist, holding her against him.

"I can't tell you the details, Draco."

"I know." Draco whispered into her ear as he raised his wand to her wound. While he was not quite as adept at wandless magic as she was, he could perform a number of spells wordlessly. As she held onto him, she felt the wound tightening and healing at an advanced rate. "You can't perform simply healing spells?"

"Not on myself." She answered as she tilted her head to look up at him. "Bad experiences with that."

Draco only laughed before putting his lips against her forehead. "Good night, Astoria."

"Good night." She whispered back to him as he started to release her, though she could feel his hesitation to completely let her go.


	19. Opening

In retrospect, he should've listened to Hermione and enlisted help for the opening of his Apothecary. Instead, however, he juggled taking orders, some of them more difficult that he would've liked, and completely transactions with others who simply wanted to buy various ingredients and glassware. More often than not, many also wanted to chat about his life and his family, though Draco could spot somebody itching for a good story from miles away.

As he juggled the many tasks at once, he heard the bell ring at the door, signaling the entrance of yet another person. Peering up, however, he found the welcome relief of Astoria's bright blue eyes. She made her way through the crowd and lifted the section of the counter so that she could stand on the other side.

"Need any help?" She offered and Draco faced her for a moment, trying his best to ignore the knowing smile across her lips that seemed to mock him.

"Can you take orders?" He answered as he handed off the pad he'd been scribbling on, though she could not make out any of his handwriting. "Just get names and potions and any other extra information they might have."

"Ok." She nodded as she took the quill from his hand and he passed her to focus solely on selling merchandise. Astoria moved to the farther end of the counter and with the space between those buying merchandise and those putting in orders created some much needed order among the chaos.

Though still overwhelmed, Draco felt relief from just Astoria's presence and offered help. He noted that she was still wearing her uniform from the bookstore, but knew he didn't have time to ask her if she had left her job to help him. As a second familiar face approached the counter, however, Draco knew Astoria had done more than simply offer her help at the store, she had also owled Hermione, someone Draco forgot had offered help in all the tasks he was attempting to do at once.

"There are boxes of packed glassware in the back. Can you open it and bring it out?" Draco asked before Hermione had said anything.

"Of course." Hermione answered as she passed him. He turned to watch Hermione walk into the back of the store, noting the look she and Astoria shared as Hermione passed her.

The number of people dwindled down until only five people were in the store at a time, a number Draco could handle on his own, but Hermione and Astoria insisted on staying until close. As Hermione continued to stock the shelves and mark the items which had sold out, Astoria was still taking orders, leaving Draco to take a breath. He watched Astoria as she spoke to the man, smiling and laughing with him while taking his order. She was a much better people person than he, and in the process of taking some twenty plus orders, she'd also developed an organization system which Draco never wouldn't thought of.

From the other side of the store, Hermione recognized the look on Draco's face, but knew far better than to point it out to him, especially in the presence of Astoria. She also wasn't sure if he knew of his own feelings towards the woman who had changed everything over the course of two years. Draco did, however, know he loved her. He was just terrified of telling her.

It was ridiculous, and he knew it, but some part of him would always be terrified of the heartbreak he'd barely recovered from previously. He wasn't sure if it was the human condition to be so afraid of emotional pain, or if it was just his twisted view of reality which hindered him to take things at face value. It might've just been all the scars he'd sustained throughout the duration of the war. Whatever it was, Draco could not bring himself to tell Astoria how much she truly meant to him.

At the end of the day, Hermione knew Draco understood the extent of his feelings, but she still could not broach the subject as Astoria stood beside him helping his count and reorganize the day's profits, as well as the overwhelming number of orders that had been put in.

"What does this say?" Draco asked as he held out a paper to Astoria who took it from his hand and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was going to ask you that. You wrote it." She answered and Hermione laughed as Draco sighed and refiled the request.

"I told you that you would do well, Draco." Hermione said as she neared the counter but remained on the customer side.

"Thank you for coming today." He responded as he looked up at Hermione. "I don't think I'd have survived without either of you."

"Isn't that everything always turns out?" Hermione replied but Draco only eyed her for a moment before he returned his attention to Astoria. "Well, I'm going to go home, but we can work something out if you still need help. And don't forget the wedding rehearsal is in a few weeks."

"Weeks?" Draco asked turning to her.

"Yes, we've moved up the wedding."

"We'll be there, Hermione, don't worry." Astoria replied and Hermione nodded before she left the store. Draco locked the door behind her before turning back to Astoria. "Have a good first day?"

"Only because you came and enlisted Hermione." He answered as he moved to stand behind her, his hands resting on her waist.

"I was watching you from the bookstore and Mary let me come over and give you a hand." She answered as she continued to organize the orders. As Draco lowered his lips to her cheek, then moved slowly to her neck, however, Astoria's focus started to falter.

"Really?" Draco hummed beside her ear before he continued to press light kisses to her skin. Somewhere in the process, Astoria had given up on the task at hand and had turned to face Draco. On her toes, she reached for his lips, but he easily dodged her, eager to continue on her neck, though on the other side. She eventually made it to the counter top again, her arms wrapped around his neck as he finally kissed her on the lips.

He wanted to bad to tell her all the things she did to him, and could feel the words threatening to fall from his lips, but they never did. As they haunted him in the back of his mind, they continued blissfully kissing wordlessly.


	20. Beforehand

Over a month passed easily, before the Weasley-Granger commenced. Though in better spirits than before, Lucius still wasn't the most pleasurable company to keep and so when given the option to skip the wedding, he returned to the top floor of the Malfoy Manor leaving no trace of his presence behind. Draco and Narcissa, however, were among the caterers in the ballroom setting everything up for the reception, while Astoria, Ginny, and Hermione were upstairs dressing for the wedding. Ron and Harry were upstairs as well, though it took Draco only a few moments to dress. He assumed Ron was having a hard time with his tie while Harry was stuck in front of the mirror attempting to fix his naturally messy hair.

After Narcissa no longer needed his assistance, Draco started to return to Ron and Harry's aid, but stopped first in the room with the bride and her bride's maids. "How are things working?" Draco called as he entered the room, finding Astoria sitting calmly near the vanity table while Hermione stared at herself in the full length mirror. He assumed Ginny was behind the closed bathroom door.

"Does it look straight to you?" Hermione asked as she turned to face Draco.

"What looks straight?" Draco asked as he looked at her dress, unsure of what was being asked of him.

"This." She answered as she motioned to the stop of the dress. "It's lower on the left side than the right." She explained before turning back to the mirror. Draco turned to Astoria who only shook her head lightly.

"Hermione, you look beautiful, and there's nothing wrong with the dress." Draco told her. "Nobody will even notice. You know that I notice far more things than most people and if I can't tell nobody else will either."

"That's true." Hermione replied softly, though she was obviously still troubled. When Molly and Hermione's mother entered the room, Draco exited and left the female world to be dominated by only females. Joining him on the other side of the spectrum, however, was Astoria who left with him to join the men's room down the hall.

"You guys should've been done dressing ages ago." Draco told him as he walked into the room, Astoria behind him.

"What is this thing?" Ron called out as he held out the cufflink from his suit.

In the corner, Draco eyed Hermione's father rubbing his forehead at the confused wizard who was capable of things beyond the imagination of a muggle and yet could not dress for his own wedding. Deciding Harry's hair problem would be easier to tackle, Draco headed towards the bathroom leaving Astoria to moved to Ron's aid.

"You're fine." Draco told Harry as he took the comb from his hand and pulled his wand from the inside pocket of his jacket. "You just need to learn a charm or two."

"It's my wand. I don't like the new one I have." Harry defended himself and Draco nodded as though it mattered. After casting a spell, Draco combed through the newly controlled hair before motioning for Harry to leave the room.

"Mr. Granger, if you head towards the ballroom, you can sneak some food in before the reception," Draco told him. "Just watch out for my mom." He added and the muggle dentist laughed and nodded before following Harry out the door.

"Ron, stop moving." Astoria sighed but Draco pointed his wand towards the red head from the other side of the room. After a few quick charms, Ron was ready and Draco and Astoria followed him out of the room and to the gardens.

"You certainly know how to get people moving." Astoria chuckled as she peered up at Draco.

"Molly is actually much better at it than I am." Draco responded truthfully.

"With that many children, you'd have to be." She replied and Draco nodded in agreement as they paused near the garden entrance. After a few minutes, Molly and Mrs. Granger appeared around the corner and continued to their seats. Only moments later, Ginny appeared and gave Ron a nod. He started the walk into the garden first and moments later, Ginny and Harry followed behind him. Looking up at Draco, Astoria smiled at him before they followed Harry and Ginny. Last, but certainly not least, Hermione followed behind them.


	21. Admittance

It was almost a recreation of the dinner party Narcissa had held so long ago, except Draco found Astoria even more beautiful in the dark purple color dress Hermione had chosen for her bride's maids. Her hair was pulled up half way, leaving half of her dark curls to fall around her shoulders. Together, Draco and Astoria stood in the far corner of the ballroom while Hermione and Ron shared their first dance as husband and wife in the center. Every other set of eyes, save Draco and Astoria's, were on them as they glided across the floor, Ron far more gracefully than many expected.

Slowly, Harry and Ginny joined them, and most of the crowd expected Draco and Astoria to join the ranks of young couples on the dance floor, but they'd already deserted their corner for the empty garden only down the hall from the ballroom.

Instead of where the wedding had been held, Draco lead Astoria to another part of the garden and after taking off her uncomfortable heels, they sat on a stone bench near a fountain Draco had once played in as a child, his mother nearby.

"It was a beautiful wedding, Draco." Astoria told him as she reached out, her hand touching his cheek softly. He leaned forward, so that their foreheads were gently touching, before he placed his hands on her waist.

"It wasn't really my doing." He answered. "The gardens are beautiful by themselves. Everything else was my mother and Hermione."

"You always discredit yourself." She responded, but he wasn't in the mood for words. Instead of responding, he pulled a soft brief kiss from her lips.

"You do the same thing, you know," he answered her but she only smiled at him as she reached out to place her fingers in his hand. Looking down at their hands, he squeezed lightly before he peered up at her once more.

He could hear the water from the fountain running behind them, and for some reason, the wordless silence between them had him on edge. It wasn't because he wasn't used to the silence, because the two had simply stared at one another in silence many times before. It had more to do with the words he'd wanted to say but could never bring himself to risk a second potential irreparable heart break.

"What are you thinking, Draco?" Astoria asked, her voice no louder than a whisper only because that was all was needed for him to hear her. With their faces dangerously close to one another, she only simply whispered her words to him much like a lover she wasn't yet to him.

Draco didn't answer her spoken question, but instead pressed his lips to hers once more. She responded to him eagerly, moving her hands to his neck as she moved closer to him on the bench. As she moved closer, Draco took the opportunity to fully wrap his arms around her waist, holding her closer still.

"As wonderful as that is," Astoria breathlessly whispered as he pulled away from her intoxicating lips, "that doesn't really answer my question."

Draco only stared into her eyes, still awestruck by the power she held over him. Her shining eyes, however, reminded him of the very reason he'd been so pulled in by her: her capability of love he'd mistaken as innocence.

Risking his own heart, Draco decided it was far better to give his entire self to her than to hold some piece of his heart for himself and forever wonder how well Astoria might've kept it instead.

"I love you."


	22. The Wedding

The memory of Hermione and Ron's wedding was clear in his mind as Draco stood in the same place Ron had stood as he waited to walk into the gardens. Perhaps it was a good two years in the past, but to Draco the memory was as vivid as young James Sirius Potter's birth only two days prior to the Malfoy-Greengrass wedding. As a result, only Hermione and Ron would be standing with Draco and Astoria under the white arch, but the last minute change was hardly noticed.

With new found confidence in the near future and complete realization that only one woman held a place in his future, Draco strode into the garden, not noticing the empty white seat beside his beaming mother. As he reached the arch, he turned back, and watched a glowing Hermione walk arm in arm down the aisle with her husband, who was also much too happy even for a close friend's wedding, through Draco wasn't under the impression Ron had ever taken to him.

Ron didn't know, however, that Draco had seen Hermione's pregnancy within nearly the first week. She'd made him promise he would not tell anybody, only because she didn't want to take away from James and the wedding, all of which was happening in a short period of time.

After what seemed to be hours, Draco saw Astoria appear at the end of the aisle, her white wedding gown barely brushing along the grass and stepping stones. The sapphire studded clip in her hair perfectly off set her shining blue eyes, but once Draco found her eyes, he didn't notice anything else about her appearance.

Just as she reached him, he reached out for her hand, and everything else became a blur. He had bits of memories involving his mother, and he recalled dancing with Hermione at least once, but he did not have any concrete memories other than the brief kiss he and Astoria had shared at the end of the ceremony. He could also recall their first dance, but only knew how her hair smelled like flowers in the garden, and how her hands felt around his neck.

Though he knew the actual wedding day would be a long day, he'd expected more time with Astoria, and so when the last of the guests, save Hermione and Ron, had left he felt relieved that Astoria could return to his arms and linger for longer than a moment.


	23. After the Wedding

**Thank you so much to everyone who had supported me throughout this (rather rushed) story. I'm not usually one for multi-chaptered stories but this one came out fairly well I think. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!**

**X**

The sun's rays were peeking through the curtains and slowly warming the skin not covered by the blanket spread across the two. As Draco groaned and rolled over, he found Astoria's blue eyes already open. She had one hand over her stomach, despite the fact she had no physical signs of pregnancy.

"Did you sleep at all?" Draco asked with a laugh as Astoria moved into his arms.

"A little." She answered as she intertwined their fingers and pressed one of his hands to her stomach as well.

Narcissa had insisted on Draco and Astoria staying at the Malfoy Manor, but a much smaller house seemed to be a much better fit for the new couple, just as leaving behind his parent's never ending bickering seemed to have a much more positive effect than he imagined. It was a hard adjustment from Malfoy Manor to a small home just outside muggle London, but found he rather enjoyed the much smaller feel of a three bedroom home.

"Why don't you go see your parents today?" Draco suggested before he pressed his lips to her neck.

"What about the store?"

"Don't worry. I said I'd look for help and I will hire someone."

"You've been saying that for almost a year, and Hermione is still there every day." Astoria replied.

"Not because I need her. She comes on her own accord. Half the time I don't even know when she's coming." Draco defended himself but Astoria snuggled even further into his chest not really caring about the on and topic as much as she thought she did.

"I want a boy." She commented and Draco paused for a moment before he kissed her neck once more.

"I want a girl." He whispered into her ear.

It was a conversation they'd had before, but it seemed neither wanted to give up their stance. Nonetheless, they constantly required the other to defend their position.

"He's going to be in the same year as Albus, and it would better for them to be friends."

"Why are you under the blind assumption that a Malfoy and a Potter can be friends at all?" Draco replied.

"You and Harry."

"We are not friends. We wind up in the same places because of Hermione. We never talk, Astoria. We don't get along. It has nothing to do with Slytherins and Gryffindors and Voldermolt. We just don't have compatible personalities."

"Maybe it's just you."

"That's very sweet of you to say." Draco replied before putting another kiss on her. He then rolled away and started to crawl out of bed, despite her protest.

"Come back." Astoria laughed as she watched him walk towards the adjacent bathroom. He entered, but left the door open, allowing Astoria to watch as he prepared himself for the day. "If it's a girl, there's a chance she'll be involved with Albus."

"If it's a boy, he could be with Rose. I doubt we have any influence on that anyway." Draco laughed as he faced Astoria, who apparently had let young Rose Weasley slip her mind.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well I married you, didn't I?"

"You father likes me more than he likes you." Astoria answered and Draco laughed before he slowly approached the bed and sat on the edge. Astoria moved closer to lay her head on his shoulder.

"And to think I used to want a nice girl."

"Don't be mean." Astoria told him as he started to laugh until she silenced him with a kiss. Though it only lasted a moment, it was one of many more to come, throughout their years together.


End file.
